Funding Notice: Community Geothermal Heating & Cooling Design & Deployment

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the Community Geothermal Heating and Cooling Design and Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), which will award $300,000–$13 million for projects that help communities design and deploy geothermal district heating and cooling systems, create related workforce training, and identify and address environmental justice concerns. The FOA will help expand community-scale geothermal by supporting new systems and developing case studies to be replicated throughout the country.

The FOA will support the formation of U.S.-based community coalitions that will develop, design, and install community geothermal heating and cooling systems that supply at least 25% of the community heating and cooling demand. Eligible applications must demonstrate that switching to geothermal district heating and cooling system would result in greenhouse gas emission reductions for the community where the system is installed.

Widespread adoption of geothermal heating and cooling systems will help decarbonize the building and electricity sectors, reduce energy costs for families, and boost resilience. The FOA will also advance the objectives of DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) to realize the potential of community-scale geothermal heating and cooling nationwide.

GTO anticipates making approximately 1–10 awards under the initial phase of this FOA, with individual awards varying between $300,000 and $750,000. In the second phase, following a downselect, GTO anticipates making 1–4 awards, with individual awards between $2.5 million and $10 million.

GTO seeks diverse teams to form U.S. community coalitions including representatives for four key roles: community voice, analysis and design, workforce, and deployment. Coalitions can be from urban, suburban, rural, remote, island, or islanded communities where geothermal can reduce dependence on fossil fuels such as natural gas or heating oil.

Applications are due by October 11, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Webinar

GTO will host an informational webinar on July 26, 2022, 12:00 p.m. ET to discuss the funding program and the areas of focus. Register for the webinar.

More Information:

Learn more about this funding opportunity and other open funding opportunities within DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), which will award $300,000–$13 million for projects that help communities design and deploy

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), which will award $300,000–$13 million for projects that help communities design and deploy geothermal district heating and cooling systems, create related workforce training, and identify and address environmental justice concerns. The FOA will help expand community-scale geothermal by supporting new systems and developing case studies to be replicated throughout the country.

The FOA will support the formation of U.S.-based community coalitions that will develop, design, and install community geothermal heating and cooling systems that supply at least 25% of the heating and cooling load in communities. Eligible applications must demonstrate that switching to geothermal district heating and cooling system would result in greenhouse gas emission reductions for the community where the system is installed.

Widespread adoption of geothermal heating and cooling systems will help decarbonize the building and electricity sectors, reduce energy costs for families, and boost resilience. The FOA will also advance the objectives of DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) to realize the potential of community-scale geothermal heating and cooling nationwide.

GTO anticipates making approximately 1–10 awards under the initial phase of this FOA, with individual awards varying between $300,000 and $750,000. In the second phase, following a downselect, GTO anticipates making 1–4 awards, with individual awards between $2.5 million and $10 million.

GTO seeks diverse teams to form U.S. community coalitions including representatives for four key roles:

1. Community voice team member(s) who understand and can communicate the energy, environmental, economic, social, and/or other relevant needs that the proposed system would address, as well as local development and regulatory requirements.
2. Workforce team member(s) who know the community labor market and can help the coalition with apprenticeship opportunities, job placement, and developing training or lesson plans for the applicable trades.
3. Analysis/Design team member(s) who have experience designing geothermal systems as well as analyzing the economic and technical aspects of such systems.
4. Deployment team member(s) who have experience building new or retrofitting existing energy systems.

Examples of each role are in the FOA. Coalitions can be from urban, suburban, rural, remote, island, or islanded communities where geothermal can reduce dependence on fossil fuels such as natural gas or heating oil.

To assist coalition formation, GTO is providing a Teaming Partner List where interested parties can provide contact information and their expertise, which can be used by potential applicants or entities interested in partnering with other applicants for this FOA. The list will be updated at least biweekly until the close of the full application period, to reflect new teaming partners who have provided their information.

Key Dates

Additional Information

• Download the full funding opportunity on the EERE Exchange website. Note: Beginning on or around August 5, all applicants will need to have a Login.gov account to access Exchange and apply to open opportunities.
• Use the FOA Quick Guide as a reference to determine eligibility and how to apply.
• For FOA-specific support or questions, contact Community.Geo@ee.doe.gov.
• Sign up for GTO email notifications and our monthly Drill Down newsletter to stay current with the latest GTO news.
• Sign up for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) funding emails and EERE news and the Weekly Jolt newsletter to get notified of new EERE funding opportunities and stay up to date on EERE news.

Courtesy of Geothermal Technologies Office