Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002828: To Address Key Deployment Challenges for Offshore, Land-Based, and Distributed Wind | DE FOA 0002828

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002828

The Department of Energy (DOE), through its Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) and administered by the Golden Field Office, released Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0002828 under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The central purpose of this opportunity is to tackle practical, real-world deployment barriers that are slowing down wind energy growth in the United States, spanning offshore wind, land-based wind, and distributed wind. In plain terms, DOE is looking to fund projects that move beyond general research and instead help solve specific technical, market, infrastructure, and community-adoption challenges that stand in the way of scaling wind power quickly, reliably, and affordably.

This FOA is explicitly tied to BIL section 41007(b)(1) and fits within the broader federal push to speed up clean energy deployment while lowering the cost of electricity, strengthening domestic innovation, and delivering tangible economic and environmental benefits. DOE frames these investments as part of a government-wide approach to address the climate crisis while also supporting workers and advancing environmental justice. That means the agency is not only interested in whether a technology works, but also whether it can be deployed at scale in ways that are socially acceptable, economically beneficial, and aligned with equitable outcomes for communities affected by energy infrastructure development.

The funding is offered as cooperative agreements, which typically means DOE expects substantial involvement during the project period (for example, regular technical check-ins, milestones, and collaboration on how the work is executed and validated). The opportunity is categorized under the Energy funding activity and is associated with CFDA number 81.087. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning applicants can generally include a wide range of entity types (such as companies, universities, nonprofits, national labs, state and local entities, and others), although applicants are still expected to follow any specific eligibility clarifications contained in the full FOA.

DOE structured the FOA into four topic areas, each aimed at a different bottleneck in wind deployment. The first topic area focuses on High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) for offshore wind. HVDC systems are increasingly important for moving large quantities of power efficiently over long distances, and offshore wind in particular can require sophisticated transmission solutions to connect far-from-shore generation to onshore load centers. By prioritizing HVDC, DOE is signaling that grid connection and transmission integration are not side issues, but core constraints that can determine how quickly offshore wind can expand.

The second topic area is Advancing Deployment of Distributed (ADD) Wind. Distributed wind generally refers to wind projects deployed near where electricity is used, such as at farms, businesses, industrial sites, or in community-scale settings, rather than only at utility-scale wind plants. This topic area is aimed at reducing the friction that keeps distributed wind from being deployed more widely, which can include technology adaptation, permitting complexity, interconnection hurdles, cost barriers, and the need for better standardized approaches. The underlying idea is that distributed wind can play a meaningful role in local resilience, customer choice, and decarbonization, but only if the remaining “last mile” challenges are solved.

The third topic area, Offshore Wind Energy Social Science Research, emphasizes the human and institutional dimensions of offshore wind development. Social science research in this context often relates to community engagement, stakeholder acceptance, impacts on local economies, workforce considerations, governance and permitting processes, and distribution of benefits and burdens. By dedicating a topic area to social science, DOE is acknowledging that successful offshore wind buildout depends not just on turbines and cables, but also on trust, informed decision-making, and workable processes among communities, regulators, industry, and other stakeholders.

The fourth topic area covers Bat Deterrent Technology Development, reflecting the ongoing need to reduce wildlife impacts associated with land-based wind energy. Bat fatalities at wind facilities are a well-documented concern, and improving deterrent technologies can help projects operate more responsibly while also reducing operational constraints and regulatory risk. This topic area is essentially about developing and improving tools that can be implemented in the field to meaningfully lower bat interactions with turbines, supporting both conservation goals and the continued expansion of wind power.

From a funding and scale perspective, the FOA lists an award ceiling of $8,000,000 and anticipates around 15 awards. The opportunity was created on December 6, 2022, with an original closing date of March 10, 2023. Because DOE expects multiple awards across four topic areas, applicants generally would be competing within their chosen topic area against other teams proposing solutions to the same set of challenges, with selections likely balancing technical merit, feasibility, impact potential, and alignment with program priorities.

Anyone seeking the full requirements, evaluation criteria, topic-specific scope details, and submission instructions would need to consult the complete FOA on DOE’s EERE Exchange website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. That full document is where details typically live regarding mandatory concept papers (if required), cost share expectations (if any), teaming rules, formatting requirements, compliance considerations, and the specific deliverables DOE expects under each topic area.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002828: To Address Key Deployment Challenges for Offshore, Land-Based, and Distributed Wind" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 06, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 10, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $8,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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