Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0000116
Apply for DE FOA 0000116
- The Golden Field Office in the energy recovery act sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Recovery Act Geothermal Technologies Program GroundSource Heat Pumps" 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 Jun 11, 2009 and posted on Jun 2, 2009.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 6, 2009 In order for the Geothermal Technologies Program to meet programmatic goals. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $50,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $5,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 21 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.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Recovery Act Geothermal Technologies Program Ground Source Heat Pumps opportunity (FOA number DE-FOA-0000116) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding announcement run through the Golden Field Office to accelerate the real-world adoption of ground source heat pumps (also called geothermal heat pumps, or GHPs). The funding is provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and is tied to DOE's responsibility under Section 931(a)(2)(C) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which authorizes efforts to promote GHP deployment. DOE set this up as a commercialization-focused push, meaning the goal is not just research in isolation, but getting more systems installed, learning from those installations, and putting industry-wide quality measures in place so adoption becomes easier and less risky for customers.
DOE expected a total of $50,000,000 to be available for new awards under this announcement, with an anticipated 21 awards. Individual awards could be as high as $5,000,000 (no stated minimum award floor). Funding instruments included cooperative agreements and grants, and the program required cost sharing or matching, reflecting DOE's intent to have applicants share financial responsibility and demonstrate market commitment. The eligible applicant pool was described as unrestricted (open to many entity types), subject to any extra eligibility details that may be in the full FOA text.
The FOA is organized around three separate Topic Areas, and applicants have to pick one Topic Area per application. DOE is explicit that you cannot submit a single application that mixes Topic Areas; any application that tries to cover more than one Topic Area will fail the initial review. At the same time, one organization or principal investigator is allowed to submit multiple applications as long as each submission is cleanly tied to a single Topic Area and is evaluated under the merit criteria for that Topic Area. DOE also reserves discretion to make one award, multiple awards, or no awards within any Topic Area depending on application quality and program needs.
Topic Area 1 focuses on Technology Demonstration Projects, specifically mid- or large-scale projects (roughly 50 to 100 tons of heating and/or cooling capacity). These are cost-shared demonstrations intended to show GHP systems working at meaningful scale while testing approaches that reduce the barriers that often slow down adoption. DOE highlights two broad kinds of innovation it wants to see here: business and financing strategies (for example, approaches that reduce upfront cost hurdles or simplify procurement and ownership) and technical approaches (for example, improvements in design, drilling/loop installation methods, or integration with building systems) that make projects easier, cheaper, faster, or more reliable to deploy.
Topic Area 2 is Data Gathering and Analysis and is geared toward collecting and publishing practical information on GHP system costs, performance, and installation techniques. The intent is to produce research papers and analyses that help identify where GHPs deliver the lowest life-cycle cost and to give consumers and decision-makers better tools for assessing feasibility before committing capital. In plain terms, DOE is looking for credible, comparable data from real projects and strong analysis that helps the market understand what works best, where it works best, and what drives cost and performance outcomes.
Topic Area 3 covers the creation of a National Certification Standard for the GHP industry. DOE frames this as a consumer confidence and quality assurance measure: a national standard can reduce the risk of poorly installed systems, improve consistency across the industry, and help ensure that products and installations deliver the performance customers are promised. This standard-setting work is positioned as an important lever for scaling the market because poor installs and uneven contractor practices can undermine the technology's reputation even when the underlying systems are sound.
Across all Topic Areas, DOE emphasizes an aggressive completion schedule and the Recovery Act priority of job creation and job retention. Applications that commit to faster completion timelines, create more jobs, offer cost share above the minimum required, and demonstrate cooperation among industry, accredited educational institutions, and/or Indian Tribes, Tribal Energy Resource Development Organizations, or Tribal groups could receive greater consideration. This signals that DOE is weighing both technical merit and practical execution value: speed, workforce impact, and partnerships matter alongside the core project idea.
A major participation condition is the data-sharing requirement. Applicants must state in writing, with signoff by an authorized organizational representative, that non-proprietary data collected during the project will be made publicly available through the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS). DOE also requires reasonable access to the project site, which aligns with the program's focus on verification, transparency, and producing learnings that can be reused across the industry rather than kept private.
On the logistics side, the full Funding Opportunity Announcement was hosted in FedConnect, and applicants were instructed to find it via the FedConnect public search page by using the FOA reference number. Applications had to be submitted through FedConnect to be considered for award, although organizations with system-to-system integration through Grants.gov could continue submitting that way and still be accepted. Applicants were responsible for verifying that their submission was successfully transmitted before the deadline, which is a practical but important point because late or incomplete transmissions can disqualify an otherwise strong proposal.
The FOA also places heavy emphasis on early registration and administrative readiness. To use FedConnect, applicants needed a DUNS number, an active Central Contractor Registration (CCR) account (the predecessor to today's SAM registration), and in some cases the CCR MPIN for the first person creating the company account in FedConnect. DOE advised organizations to allow at least 21 days to complete these steps if they were not already registered, and noted that CCR registrations had to be updated annually. Questions about the content of the FOA were to be submitted through the FedConnect portal (requiring interested-party registration), and DOE aimed to respond within about three business days when possible. Technical submission problems were routed to FedConnect support, and a DOE contact was listed for opportunity-related issues.
Key dates in the listing include a posted date of June 2, 2009, with an application closing date of August 6, 2009, and an archive date of October 2, 2009. The overall picture is a Recovery Act-era deployment and market-enablement grant program: fund bigger demonstrations, collect and publish cost and performance data that can guide future investment, and create a national certification standard to reduce quality risk, all while pushing rapid execution and measurable job impacts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this funding opportunity?
This is the Recovery Act Geothermal Technologies Program Ground Source Heat Pumps funding opportunity (FOA number DE-FOA-0000116) run by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the Golden Field Office. It is designed to accelerate real-world adoption of ground source heat pumps (also called geothermal heat pumps or GHPs).
Which laws or authorities is this program tied to?
The funding is provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and is connected to DOE responsibilities under Section 931(a)(2)(C) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which authorizes efforts to promote GHP deployment.
What is the main goal of the FOA?
The FOA is commercialization-focused. The goal is not just research by itself, but increasing the number of installed systems, learning from those installations, and putting industry-wide quality measures in place so adoption becomes easier and less risky for customers.
How much total funding did DOE expect to make available?
DOE expected a total of $50,000,000 to be available for new awards under this announcement.
How many awards were anticipated?
DOE anticipated making about 21 awards under this announcement.
What is the maximum award size?
Individual awards could be as high as $5,000,000. No minimum award amount was stated in the provided summary.
What funding instruments are used (grant vs. cooperative agreement)?
The FOA allowed awards as cooperative agreements and grants.
Is cost sharing (matching) required?
Yes. The program required cost sharing or matching, reflecting DOE's intent that applicants share financial responsibility and demonstrate market commitment.
Who is eligible to apply?
The eligible applicant pool was described as unrestricted (open to many entity types), subject to any additional eligibility details that may be included in the full FOA text.
How is the FOA organized?
The FOA is organized into three separate Topic Areas. Applicants must choose one Topic Area per application.
Can one application cover more than one Topic Area?
No. DOE explicitly stated that you cannot submit a single application that mixes Topic Areas. Any application attempting to cover more than one Topic Area would fail the initial review.
Can the same organization or principal investigator submit more than one application?
Yes. One organization or principal investigator may submit multiple applications as long as each submission is tied to a single Topic Area and is evaluated under that Topic Area's merit criteria.
Does DOE have to make awards in every Topic Area?
No. DOE reserved discretion to make one award, multiple awards, or no awards within any Topic Area depending on application quality and program needs.
What is Topic Area 1 about?
Topic Area 1 is for Technology Demonstration Projects, specifically mid- or large-scale projects (roughly 50 to 100 tons of heating and/or cooling capacity). These are cost-shared demonstrations meant to show GHP systems working at meaningful scale while testing approaches that reduce common adoption barriers.
What types of innovations does Topic Area 1 encourage?
DOE highlighted two broad categories: (1) business and financing strategies that reduce upfront cost hurdles or simplify procurement/ownership, and (2) technical approaches such as improved design, drilling/loop installation methods, or integration with building systems that make deployments easier, cheaper, faster, or more reliable.
What is Topic Area 2 about?
Topic Area 2 focuses on Data Gathering and Analysis. It supports collecting and publishing practical information on GHP system costs, performance, and installation techniques, with the intent of producing research papers and analyses that help identify where GHPs deliver the lowest life-cycle cost and help decision-makers assess feasibility before investing.
What kinds of outputs are expected under Topic Area 2?
The description emphasizes credible, comparable data from real projects and strong analysis. Expected outputs include published information such as research papers and analyses focused on cost, performance, installation techniques, and life-cycle cost considerations.
What is Topic Area 3 about?
Topic Area 3 supports the creation of a National Certification Standard for the GHP industry. DOE frames this as a consumer confidence and quality assurance measure to reduce the risk of poorly installed systems, improve consistency, and help ensure installations deliver the performance customers are promised.
Why is a national certification standard important in this FOA?
DOE positioned national certification as a lever for scaling the market, since poor installations and uneven contractor practices can undermine the technology's reputation even when the underlying systems are sound.
What priorities apply across all Topic Areas?
Across all Topic Areas, DOE emphasized an aggressive completion schedule and Recovery Act priorities for job creation and job retention.
What factors could receive greater consideration in evaluation?
Applications that commit to faster completion timelines, create more jobs, offer cost share above the minimum required, and demonstrate cooperation among industry, accredited educational institutions, and/or Indian Tribes, Tribal Energy Resource Development Organizations, or Tribal groups could receive greater consideration.
Is there a data-sharing requirement?
Yes. Applicants must state in writing, with signoff by an authorized organizational representative, that non-proprietary data collected during the project will be made publicly available through the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS).
Does DOE require access to the project site?
Yes. DOE required reasonable access to the project site, consistent with the program focus on verification, transparency, and producing learnings that can be reused across the industry.
Where was the full FOA posted?
The full Funding Opportunity Announcement was hosted in FedConnect. Applicants were instructed to locate it via the FedConnect public search page using the FOA reference number.
How were applications required to be submitted?
Applications had to be submitted through FedConnect to be considered for award. However, organizations with system-to-system integration through Grants.gov could continue submitting that way and still be accepted.
What is the FOA reference number applicants should use to find the posting?
The FOA reference number is DE-FOA-0000116.
What is the risk if an application is not fully transmitted by the deadline?
Applicants were responsible for verifying that their submission was successfully transmitted before the deadline. If a submission is late or incomplete, it can disqualify an otherwise strong proposal.
What registrations were needed to use FedConnect?
To use FedConnect, applicants needed a DUNS number and an active Central Contractor Registration (CCR) account. In some cases, the CCR MPIN was needed for the first person creating the company account in FedConnect.
How much time did DOE recommend for registration and setup?
DOE advised organizations to allow at least 21 days to complete the required registration steps if they were not already registered.
Did CCR registration have to be maintained?
Yes. DOE noted that CCR registrations had to be updated annually.
How were questions about the FOA handled?
Questions about FOA content were to be submitted through the FedConnect portal, which required interested-party registration. DOE aimed to respond within about three business days when possible.
Where should applicants go for technical submission problems?
Technical submission problems were routed to FedConnect support.
What are the key dates for this opportunity?
The posted date was June 2, 2009. The application closing date was August 6, 2009. The archive date was October 2, 2009.
What is the overall intent of this Recovery Act-era program?
The program is aimed at deployment and market enablement: funding larger demonstrations, collecting and publishing cost and performance data to guide future investment, and creating a national certification standard to reduce quality risk, while pushing rapid execution and measurable job impacts.
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