Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001217
Apply for DE FOA 0001217
- The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent to Issue Fiscal Year 15 Biomass Research and Development Initiative" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087 Renewable Energy Research and Development.
- This funding opportunity was created on Oct 21, 2014 and posted on Oct 21, 2014.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Applications are not being solicited for the Notice of Intent.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Individuals For profit organizations other than small businesses Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Small businesses Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Private institutions of higher education State governments.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Notice of Intent (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0001217) is an advance heads-up that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plan to release a formal Request for Applications (RFA) for the Fiscal Year 2015 Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI). The announcement is issued jointly by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), specifically through DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). The overall purpose is to outline, at a high level, what the coming BRDI funding will focus on and to give potential applicants time to organize teams, shape project concepts, and collect the technical and market information they will need once the real solicitation opens.
A key point is that this notice is not itself a funding opportunity you can apply to. No applications are accepted under the Notice of Intent, and the agencies explicitly state that stakeholders should not submit questions or respond to the notice. Instead, applicants are encouraged to prepare in advance for the upcoming RFA, which the agencies anticipated posting on Grants.gov in November 2014. Although the posting date is in the past now, the notice is still useful as a snapshot of the program's intent, legislative constraints, and the kinds of projects BRDI expected to support in FY 2015.
BRDI is a competitively awarded grants program with roots in federal energy and agriculture legislation. The notice explains that Section 9001(a) of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 reauthorized BRDI by amending Section 9008 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (codified at 7 U.S.C. 8108). In practical terms, that legislative background matters because it defines what the program is allowed to fund and, for FY 2015, it drives a major structural requirement: each funded project must align with only one of three legislatively mandated technical areas. Applicants would need to choose a single topic area and build a project that fits squarely within it, rather than trying to spread a proposal across multiple categories.
The first technical area is Feedstocks Development. This area targets research, development, and demonstration (often abbreviated RDD) work on biomass feedstocks and the logistics needed to supply them to conversion facilities. The scope is broad across the supply chain: harvesting, handling, transportation, preprocessing, and storage are all explicitly mentioned. The underlying goal is to make raw materials available reliably and cost-effectively for conversion into biofuels and biobased products. A major theme is near-term commercial relevance. The program emphasizes systems that can move toward commercialization soon, so proposals were expected to focus on optimizing and scaling existing feedstocks that could actually be tested and demonstrated within the project period. Projects centered on breeding or genetic improvement are not ruled out, but they would need to make a clear case for near-term impact rather than long time horizons that do not match the program's commercialization emphasis.
The second technical area is Biofuels and Biobased Products Development. This topic is aimed at RDD activities that advance conversion technologies, especially for cellulosic biomass, to produce biofuels, bioenergy, and a range of biobased products. The notice highlights two connected aims: first, developing diverse and cost-effective technologies for converting cellulosic materials; and second, improving the economics of biorefineries through product diversification. In other words, the program is not only interested in making fuels, but also in technology pathways that enable co-products such as biobased chemicals, animal feeds, or combined heat and power (cogeneration). The idea is that producing additional valuable outputs can improve the feasibility and market resilience of fuel production, which is a familiar biorefinery strategy: multiple revenue streams can help reduce financial risk and improve overall project economics.
The third technical area is Biofuels Development Analysis. Rather than focusing on physical feedstock logistics or conversion technology development, this category centers on systems-level evaluation and sustainability analysis. Projects in this area are expected to use modeling and other systems evaluation methods to optimize performance and market potential and to quantify sustainability impacts. The notice is explicit about lifecycle thinking: successful applications would consider cradle-to-grave impacts, including environmental, social, and economic implications attributable to the project. Importantly, sustainability analysis is framed as something integrated into engineering and process models and used iteratively over the project life, not just a one-time report at the end. That implies applicants would need credible data collection and modeling plans that inform real design or operational decisions and that can demonstrate measurable sustainability outcomes.
On administrative details, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary and tied to an energy-related activity category, with CFDA number 81.087 (Renewable Energy Research and Development). The notice lists a broad set of eligible applicants that spans individuals, for-profit organizations (including small businesses), public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and certain non-501(c)(3) entities), and state governments. This wide eligibility is consistent with the program's intent to encourage partnerships that combine research institutions, industry, and other stakeholders who can move technologies toward demonstration and commercialization. The notice also shows "EstimatedTotalFunding" and award floor/ceiling as 0, which is typical for a notice of intent because it is not the actual solicitation and does not yet commit funds or specify award sizes.
Finally, the notice points interested parties to where the full RFA was expected to appear (Grants.gov and DOE's EERE Exchange site) and provides a contact for technical access issues rather than programmatic questions. Overall, the document's main value is as a planning signal: FY 2015 BRDI was intended to fund near-term, commercialization-relevant biomass work, but proposals had to be tightly scoped to one of three tracks: improving feedstocks and logistics, advancing conversion and bioproduct technologies, or conducting rigorous systems and lifecycle-based analysis to quantify and improve sustainability and market outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1) What is Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0001217?
DE-FOA-0001217 is a Notice of Intent (NOI) indicating that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) planned to release a formal Request for Applications (RFA) for the Fiscal Year 2015 Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI).
2) Is this Notice of Intent an open grant application I can apply to?
No. The Notice of Intent is not itself a funding opportunity. The agencies state that no applications are accepted under the Notice of Intent.
3) Should I submit questions or a response to the Notice of Intent?
No. The agencies explicitly state that stakeholders should not submit questions or respond to the notice.
4) Who issued this Notice of Intent?
The Notice of Intent was issued jointly by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), through DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO).
5) What is the purpose of the Notice of Intent?
The purpose is to provide a high-level preview of what the upcoming FY 2015 BRDI funding would focus on and to give potential applicants time to prepare by organizing teams, shaping project concepts, and collecting technical and market information ahead of the formal solicitation.
6) Where was the formal BRDI RFA expected to be posted?
The agencies anticipated the RFA would be posted on Grants.gov and also referenced DOE's EERE Exchange site as a place to look for the full opportunity.
7) When was the FY 2015 BRDI RFA expected to be posted?
The Notice of Intent anticipated that the RFA would be posted on Grants.gov in November 2014.
8) What is BRDI?
The Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) is a competitively awarded federal grants program supporting research, development, and demonstration (RDD) related to biomass, biofuels, and biobased products.
9) What is the main planning takeaway from this Notice of Intent?
The notice functions as a planning signal that FY 2015 BRDI was intended to support near-term, commercialization-relevant biomass work, and that projects would need to be tightly aligned with one of three legislatively mandated technical areas.
10) Are applicants allowed to propose work across multiple technical areas?
No. For FY 2015, each funded project was required to align with only one of the three legislatively mandated technical areas. Applicants would need to choose a single area and scope the proposal to fit within it.
11) What are the three technical areas for FY 2015 BRDI (as described in the Notice of Intent)?
The three areas are: (1) Feedstocks Development, (2) Biofuels and Biobased Products Development, and (3) Biofuels Development Analysis.
12) What kinds of projects fit under Technical Area 1: Feedstocks Development?
This area supports RDD focused on biomass feedstocks and the logistics needed to supply them to conversion facilities. The notice explicitly mentions harvesting, handling, transportation, preprocessing, and storage, with an emphasis on making feedstocks reliably and cost-effectively available for conversion into biofuels and biobased products.
13) Does Feedstocks Development emphasize near-term commercialization?
Yes. The notice emphasizes near-term commercial relevance and systems that can move toward commercialization soon, including optimizing and scaling existing feedstocks that can be tested and demonstrated within the project period.
14) Are breeding or genetic improvement projects allowed under Feedstocks Development?
The notice does not rule them out, but it indicates that such projects would need a clear case for near-term impact consistent with the program's commercialization emphasis (as opposed to long time horizons).
15) What kinds of projects fit under Technical Area 2: Biofuels and Biobased Products Development?
This area supports RDD to advance conversion technologies, especially for cellulosic biomass, to produce biofuels, bioenergy, and biobased products. The notice highlights developing diverse, cost-effective conversion technologies and improving biorefinery economics through product diversification.
16) What does "product diversification" mean in the context of the notice?
It refers to technology pathways that enable co-products alongside fuels to improve overall biorefinery economics and market resilience. The notice gives examples such as biobased chemicals, animal feeds, or combined heat and power (cogeneration).
17) What kinds of projects fit under Technical Area 3: Biofuels Development Analysis?
This area focuses on systems-level evaluation, modeling, and sustainability analysis. Projects are expected to optimize performance and market potential and quantify sustainability impacts using lifecycle-oriented approaches that include environmental, social, and economic implications.
18) What does the notice mean by lifecycle or "cradle-to-grave" analysis?
It means considering impacts across the full lifecycle, including environmental, social, and economic implications attributable to the project, rather than looking at only one stage of production or use.
19) Is sustainability analysis expected to be a one-time report at the end?
No. The notice frames sustainability analysis as integrated into engineering and process models and used iteratively over the project life, implying data collection and modeling that inform real design or operational decisions.
20) What is the program classification (CFDA) number listed in the notice?
The notice lists CFDA number 81.087, titled Renewable Energy Research and Development.
21) What type of funding opportunity category is this described as?
The notice categorizes the opportunity as discretionary and tied to an energy-related activity category.
22) Who is eligible to apply under the program described in the notice?
The notice lists a broad range of eligible applicants: individuals; for-profit organizations (including small businesses); public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (including 501(c)(3) and certain non-501(c)(3) entities); and state governments.
23) Does the notice indicate expected award amounts or total funding?
No. The notice shows the Estimated Total Funding and award floor/ceiling as 0, which is typical for a Notice of Intent because it is not the actual solicitation and does not commit funds or specify award sizes.
24) Why does the notice matter if it is not an application?
Its value is as a snapshot of the program's intent, legislative constraints, and the kinds of projects that were expected to be supported, so potential applicants could plan teams, concepts, and supporting technical/market information before the formal RFA opened.
25) What legislative authority is referenced for BRDI in the notice?
The notice explains that Section 9001(a) of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 reauthorized BRDI by amending Section 9008 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (codified at 7 U.S.C. 8108).
26) What kind of contact does the notice provide?
The notice provides a contact for technical access issues (rather than programmatic questions), consistent with the instruction not to submit questions about the notice itself.
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