Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Request for Information on Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Competitive Program
This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP). The intent of this RFI is to obtain public input regarding the solicitation process and structure of a DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to fund Sec. 40552, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECGB) Competitive Program, which aims to support units of local government including Indian Tribes ineligible for direct formula grants from DOE under the EECGB program to lower fossil fuel emissions and energy use in their jurisdictions, in accordance with the Program’s authorizing legislation, Title V, Subtitle E of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Specifically, this RFI seeks input on: 1. Potential partnership structures and models to achieve the goals of the provision and leverage the financial investment for deeper impact; 2. Technical assistance needs of applicants and their stakeholders and partners; 3. Program criteria and metrics; 4. Opportunities to reduce administrative burden on award recipients while protecting against waste, fraud, and abuse; 5. Employment and expanding union jobs; 6. Equity, environmental and energy justice priorities; 7. Market adoption and industry sustainability; and, 8. Build America, Buy America requirements. DOE aims to facilitate substantial additional investment, prioritize communities with high needs, minimize administrative burden, and build enduring capacity in jurisdictions to maximize impact equitably and efficiently. Information collected from this RFI will be used by DOE for planning purposes to develop the EECBG Competitive Program FOA. The information collected will not be published. This RFI is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA); therefore, DOE is not accepting applications at this time. DOE may issue a FOA in the future based on or related to the content and responses to this RFI; however, DOE may also elect not to issue a FOA. There is no guarantee that a FOA will be issued as a result of this RFI.