Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0002206 Connected Communities | DE FOA 0002249

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002249

The Department of Energy (DOE), through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and its Building Technologies Office (BTO), released a Notice of Intent signaling that it planned to publish a formal Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) called "Connected Communities." This notice is essentially an early heads-up to the market and research community that DOE expected to fund projects focused on grid-interactive, energy-efficient buildings at the community scale. It is not itself a solicitation, and DOE explicitly stated that no applications would be accepted under the notice and that responses or questions should not be submitted at this stage.

The central aim of the planned "Connected Communities" FOA is to demonstrate, in real-world settings, that efficient buildings can actively interact with the electric grid to provide demand flexibility. In practical terms, this means showing that buildings can shift when they use electricity, reduce or modulate load during peak periods, and otherwise respond to grid conditions in a controlled and measurable way. The emphasis is on demand flexibility that works across both existing communities and new developments, and across a wide range of conditions, including different climates, geographic regions, building types, and varying grid and regulatory environments. Just as important, DOE highlighted that these grid-responsive strategies should maintain occupant satisfaction and productivity, and ideally improve them, rather than treating comfort and usability as secondary concerns.

This planned effort builds directly on BTO's ongoing work in Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEB). The broader policy and technical rationale is that improving building efficiency and making building loads more flexible can reduce stress on the electric grid, help integrate renewable energy, and extend energy resources by lowering peak demand and improving overall system operations. In many grid scenarios, the ability to shape demand can be as valuable as adding new supply, especially as electrification grows and variable renewable generation becomes a larger share of the energy mix.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is classified as a discretionary grant opportunity and was expected to use cooperative agreements as the primary funding instrument. Cooperative agreements typically mean DOE anticipates substantial involvement during the project period, such as collaboration on technical direction, milestones, reporting, and validation of results. The issuing agency is listed as the Department of Energy, Golden Field Office. The assistance listing (CFDA) number provided is 81.086, which corresponds to DOE energy efficiency and renewable energy-related assistance.

Key funding parameters included an anticipated award ceiling of up to $7,000,000 per award and an expectation of about six awards in total. The notice does not provide a total program funding amount in the excerpted data, but the ceiling and expected number of awards signal that DOE was considering a relatively small number of sizable demonstration projects rather than many small research-only awards. The original closing date is marked "Not Applicable" because this notice is not the actual FOA and therefore had no application deadline.

Eligibility was described as unrestricted, meaning it was broadly open to many entity types, subject to any additional eligibility language that would appear in the eventual FOA. In DOE EERE programs, that typically includes companies, universities, national laboratories, state and local governments, tribes, nonprofits, utilities, and other organizations, often as part of multi-party teams. Consistent with that model, the notice encouraged prospective applicants to start preparing by building partnerships, developing concepts, and gathering relevant data so they would be ready to respond quickly once the FOA was formally posted.

Finally, the notice indicated the FOA was anticipated to be posted on EERE Exchange around August 2020. EERE Exchange is DOE's primary platform for publishing EERE funding opportunities and managing the submission process. The overall message to interested parties was straightforward: use this advance notice period to assemble strong project teams and demonstration-ready plans for connected, grid-responsive community building solutions, but do not attempt to apply or engage DOE with questions until the official FOA is released.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0002206 Connected Communities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.086.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 13, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Not Applicable. (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 $7,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 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.

Apply for DE FOA 0002249

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