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Cooperative Agreements to Puerto Rico Solar Companies, Nonprofits, For-Profits, and Agencies for Projects to Improve the Electric Grid

Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund (PR-ERF)


Grant Writers
Agency
Federal
GrantWatch ID#
210828
Funding Source
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
CFDA Number: 81.254
Funding or PIN Number: DE-FOA-0003096
Array ( [0] => Puerto Rico (USA); )
Geographic Focus
USA Territories: Puerto Rico (USA);
Important Dates
Deadline: 09/18/23 5:00 PM ET Save
Grant Description
Cooperative agreements to Puerto Rico solar companies, nonprofit and for-profit entities, energy cooperatives, educational institutions, and agencies for projects to improve the electric grid, particularly for vulnerable populations. Applicants are advised to complete required registrations well in advance of the deadline.

This first Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) under the PR-ERF has three Strategic Goals:

  1. Enhance energy resilience for vulnerable households through the rapid installation of rooftop solar PV and battery storage systems. Through this first funding opportunity, DOE aims to incentivize the installation of roughly 30,000-40,000 residential systems.  
  2. Reduce energy burden (i.e., the percentage of gross household income spent on energy costs) for program beneficiaries.
  3. Support the growth of the clean energy workforce in Puerto Rico, as well as support education and protection for beneficiaries.

To accomplish these goals, this FOA has three (3) Topic Areas. The three Topic Areas are as follows:

  • Topic Area 1: Third-Party Residential Rooftop Solar PV and Battery Storage Deployment
  • Topic Area 2: Community-Sponsored Residential Rooftop Solar PV and Battery Storage Deployment
  • Topic Area 3: Beneficiary Education, Training, and Consumer Protection

For further information on the topic areas, see p. 13 of the FOA in Supporting Documents.
Full Grant Text RFP
Recipient
Eligibility
  • City or township governments
  • County governments
  • For profit organizations other than small businesses
  • Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
  • Private institutions of higher education
  • Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
  • Others (see text field entitled "Additional Eligibility Criteria" for clarification)
  • Small businesses
  • State governments
Additional Eligibility Criteria
Topic Area 1: Qualified Applicants are solar and storage companies with an existing presence in Puerto Rico, an established business model for third-party ownership and operations and maintenance (O&M), financial and regulatory good standing, and who can demonstrate a strong operational track record of resilient solar PV and battery storage installation.

Topic Area 2: Qualified Applicants are nonprofit entities or energy cooperatives with an existing presence in Puerto Rico, financial and regulatory good standing, and demonstrating a strong operational track record to deploy solar PV and battery storage systems and provide O&M.

Topic Area 3: Qualified Applicants include nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, local government agencies, and for-profit entities with demonstrated successful experience delivering the education, training and consumer protection specified in this topic area. The Applicant and Team Members must have active operations, programs, or other activities in Puerto Rico. Awardees will provide direct assistance to energy consumers in Puerto Rico, specifically the beneficiaries of Topic Areas 1 and 2.

For additional eligibility information, see p. 23 of the FOA in Supporting Documents.
Ineligible
Entities banned from doing business with the U.S. government such as entities debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participating in federal programs are not eligible.

Nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995, are not eligible to apply for funding.

Foreign entities, whether for-profit or otherwise, are not eligible to apply for funding under this FOA.

The following types of applications will be deemed nonresponsive for this FOA and will not be reviewed or considered (See Section III. of the FOA):
- Applications that fall outside the technical parameters specified in Sections I.A. and I.B. of the FOA such as installing other forms of generation (e.g. diesel generation)
- Applications that do not focus on very low-income single-family households in Last Mile Communities or households with an individual with an energy dependent disability.
Pre-Application Information
Key Dates:
- FOA Opens: July 31, 2023
- Applications Due: September 18, 2023 at 5:00 PM AT/ET
- Award Announcement: Late Fall 2023
- Planning Phase: Winter 2023 - Spring 2024
- Initial Deployment Phase: Spring 2024

Applicants requiring translation assistance to submit applications in English under this FOA should contact DOE via email no later than September 4 at 5 PM AT/ET.

Questions regarding this FOA must be submitted via email no later than three (3) business days prior to the Full Application due date and time.

Applicants are responsible for meeting the submission deadline. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their application at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline.

There are several one-time actions that must be completed before submitting an application in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) (e.g., register with the System for Award Management (SAM), obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number, and register with the Clean Energy Infrastructure Funding Opportunity Exchange (INFRASTRUCTURE eXCHANGE). It is vital that Applicants address these items as soon as possible. Some may take several weeks, and failure to complete them could interfere with an Applicant’s ability to apply to this FOA.

Topic Areas 1 and 2 require no less than 5% cost share for each phase of work. No cost share is required for Topic Area 3.

FAQ: https://www.energy.gov/gdo/frequently-asked-questions-puerto-rico-energy-resilience-fund-2023-funding-opportunity

View this opportunity on Grants.gov: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=349647
Additional Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding:

$450,000,000
Number of Grants
Topic Area 1: up to 5 awards; Topic Area 2: up to 10 awards; Topic Area 3: between 1-3 awards.
Estimated Size of Grant
Topic Area 1: $80M-$200M
Topic Area 2: $500k-$10M
Topic Area 3: $2M-$5M
Term of Contract
Topic Areas 1 and: Deployments would occur over a maximum 5-year timeframe.
Topic Area 3: Education, Training, and Consumer Protection services would occur over a maximum 5-year timeframe.
Contact Information
Apply online: https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/

Applicants who experience technical difficulties with submission prior to the FOA deadline should contact the INFRASTRUCTURE eXCHANGE helpdesk at infrastructureexchangesupport@hq.doe.gov.

For assistance with translation services and for other questions, reach out to GDO_FOA3096@netl.doe.gov for further guidance.
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