The RFSP supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. The RFSP focuses on building and strengthening local or regional food economy viability and resilience, and this includes pandemic response and recovery. Applicants will work with their partners to catalyze the development of local or regional food systems. Applicants will coordinate efforts within the partnership to set priorities, connect resources and services, and measure progress towards common goals. Partnerships are authorized to:

• Determine the size and scope of the local or regional food system in which the project’s goals, outreach objectives, and eligible activities are to be carried out,
• Coordinate with AMS to receive technical assistance, and
• Conduct outreach and education for potential participation in the partnership agreement and eligible activities.

Partnerships must bring a variety of financial and technical capabilities, demonstrate experience or readiness to work effectively and collaboratively with public and private entities across sectors, and present innovative, sustainable, and measurable approaches to achieving the project’s goals.

This solicitation seeks proposals for projects that conduct resource inventories and assessments, feasibility studies, or other pre-development studies necessary to process, use and develop energy and mineral resources. These resources and their uses include, but are not limited to, biomass (woody and waste) for heat or electricity; transportation fuels; hydroelectric, solar, or wind generation; geothermal heating or electricity production; district heating; other forms of distributed energy generation; oil, natural gas, and helium; sand and gravel, coal, precious minerals, and base minerals (lead, copper, zinc, etc.).EMDP projects may include, but are not limited to: Initial resource exploration; Defining potential targets for development; Performing a market analysis to establish production/demand for a commodity; Performing economic evaluation and analysis of the resource;Baseline studies related to energy and mineral projects; and Other pre-development studies or work necessary to promote the use and development of energy and mineral resources.

DOE’s Office of Indian Energy is soliciting applications from Indian Tribes, which include Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Village Corporations, Intertribal Organizations, and Tribal Energy Development Organizations to:

• Install clean energy generating system(s) and/or energy efficiency measure(s) for Tribal Building(s) (Topic Area 1),
• Deploy community-scale clean energy generating system(s) or community energy storage on Tribal Lands (Topic Area 2),
• Install integrated energy system(s) for autonomous operation (independent of the traditional centralized electric power grid) to power a single or multiple Essential Tribal Building(s) during emergency situations or for tribal community resilience (Topic Area 3), or
• Provide electric power to Tribal Building(s), which otherwise would be unelectrified (Topic Area 4).

The DOE Office of Indian Energy is soliciting applications from Indian Tribes, which include Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Village Corporations (hereafter referred collectively as “Indian Tribes”), Intertribal Organizations, and Tribal Energy Development Organizations to:

1. Install clean energy generating systems and energy efficiency measures for Tribal Buildings (Topic Area 1);
2. Deploy community-scale clean energy generating systems or community energy storage on Tribal Lands (Topic Area 2);
3. Install integrated energy systems for autonomous operation (independent of the traditional centralized electric power grid) to power a single or multiple Essential Tribal Buildings during emergency situations or for tribal community resilience (Topic Area 3);
4. Provide electric power to unelectrified Tribal Buildings (Topic Area 4).

The fiscal year (FY) 2024 application period for the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program is officially open. With up to $500 million in bond guarantee authority available for Eligible Community Development Financial Institutions (Eligible CDFIs), this opportunity promises significant potential for advancing community development initiatives across the nation. Through the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, selected Certified CDFIs or their designees issue bonds that are guaranteed by the Secretary of the Treasury. These bonds’ proceeds are then utilized to extend credit to CDFIs for community development financing and long-term community investments. The impact of these investments spans various financial activities, including supporting commercial facilities, affordable housing projects, businesses owned by low-income individuals, and community or economic development initiatives in underserved rural areas.

• COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT AWARD – Recognizes an organization that has showcased exemplary leadership in championing diversity, equity, and inclusion within innovative technology and manufacturing innovations spaces.
• EXCELLENCE IN ENGINEERING AWARD – Recognizes an individual engineer’s outstanding contributions to product design, development, or optimization, recognizing their visionary thinking, technical prowess, and unwavering commitment to driving innovation and transformative ideas.
• INNOVATION OF THE YEAR – Recognizes groundbreaking technology that has caused significant disruption within its industry.
• RISING STAR AWARD – Recognizes an early-stage startup for its innovation, creativity, and position as the next great hardtech company to emerge in the region.
• SMALL & MEDIUM-SIZED MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR – Recognizes a corporation or business that has made an impact on manufacturing through community focused efforts and significant financial investment throughout the region.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced $15 million in new funding for projects that will advance deployment of technologies critical to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. The funding will drive innovation in equitable clean transportation and is aligned with strategies detailed in the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. The funding is administered through the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) within DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Topic areas in VTO’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Technology Integration funding opportunity include:

• Clean Cities Outreach, Engagement, and Technical Assistance
• Training on Zero Emission Vehicle and Infrastructure Technologies for Critical Emergency Response Workers
• Clean Transportation Demonstration and Deployment.

The Solutions for Lasting, Viable Energy Infrastructure Technologies (SOLVE IT) Prize aims to empower communities to identify and implement innovative clean energy solutions in a way that works for their unique needs and challenges. The prize will award competitors with a demonstrated history of productive work with communities. Competitors will work collaboratively with stakeholders interested in community-scale (neighborhood-, town-, or city-scale) planning around clean energy to engage their communities, build a network of support for clean energy or decarbonization projects, and develop plans for carrying out these projects.

Phase 1 of the CPRG program provides flexible support to states, local governments, tribes, and territories regardless of where they are in their climate planning and implementation process. Planning grant recipients are using the funding to design climate action plans that incorporate a variety of measures to reduce GHG emissions from across their economies in six key sectors (electricity generation, industry, transportation, buildings, agriculture/natural and working lands, and waste management).

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in collaboration with its Partnership Intermediary, ENERGYWERX, has re-opened applications for small and medium-sized manufacturing firms (SMMs) to receive grants of up to $300,000 per funding round, at 50% cost share, to implement recommendations made in IAC assessments and/or DOE Combined Heat and Power Technical Assistance Partnership (CHP TAP) assessments – including what are now called “Onsite Energy TAP” assessments – and, once qualified, other assessments submitted previously for qualification as “IAC-equivalent.”

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) and Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), in collaboration with its newly established Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA), called ENERGYWERX, seeks to identify local organizations located in OCED project host communities interested in convening and leading logistics for multi-stakeholder engagement processes for federal projects. Selected local organizations will have the skills, resources, and expertise in event planning and convening multi-stakeholder initiatives or civic engagement processes and serve as a trusted community entity. In particular, the objective of this effort is to provide logistical and coordination support for event execution in Calcasieu Parish, LA, including: drafting and sending event invitation lists and text, identifying event venues, attending events, providing light refreshments, paying participating honorariums for specific convenings, and managing childcare arrangements (with other sub-contractors, as needed) during specific Shared Principles events.

In September, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Blueprint Cohorts Program (Blueprint Cohorts Program). The purpose of the Blueprint Cohorts Program is to provide EECBG grantees the support they need to execute their EECBG projects and programs. EECBG provides formula grants to over 2,700 local, state and tribal governments to support their clean energy goals. The DOE team has created 13 Blueprints that grantees may choose to follow with their EECBG Program grant available here. Many grantees are small local and tribal governments with limited staff capacity and limited experience with energy efficiency and clean energy. The Blueprints are designed to serve as model project ideas, making it easy for grantees to pursue impactful projects or programs with their EECBG grant funds, with expedited application review. ENERGYWERX is seeking applications from a single entity or a coalition of entities with experience working with local and tribal governments, administering virtual cohort-based trainings, and with subject matter expertise across the 13 Blueprint topic areas.