Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001319
Apply for DE FOA 0001319
- The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "SOLAR BANKABILITY DATA TO ADVANCE TRANSACTIONS AND ACCESS (SB DATA)" 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 May 22, 2015 and posted on May 22, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 31, 2015. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $5,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
- 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.
- Please refer to Section III.A of the FOA for eligibility information.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Solar Bankability Data to Advance Transactions and Access (SB DATA) funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0001319) is a U.S. Department of Energy effort run through the Golden Field Office that focuses on reducing "soft costs" in distributed solar by fixing a less visible but expensive problem: fragmented, inconsistent, and hard-to-share data. The FOA is built around the idea that as solar scales, the industry needs a more standardized and interoperable data environment so that information can move cleanly from one stakeholder to the next. In practical terms, SB DATA aims to make solar projects easier to originate, evaluate, finance, insure, connect to the grid, operate, and eventually retire, because each step depends on trustworthy data that can be understood and exchanged across many different systems and organizations.
The central purpose of SB DATA is to support the creation and adoption of industry-led, de facto open data standards for distributed solar. The emphasis on "industry-led" signals that the government is not trying to impose a single top-down schema, but instead is funding work that helps the market converge on shared formats, definitions, and exchange methods that can be broadly implemented. The program is particularly concerned with datasets that influence the "bankability" of solar assets, meaning the information lenders, tax equity, investors, insurers, underwriters, and other risk-focused parties rely on to price capital, assess performance risk, and determine whether projects qualify for financing. By improving data accessibility, quality, and interoperability, the FOA is trying to reduce friction in transactions, cut duplicative paperwork and manual re-entry, lower errors, speed up underwriting and contracting, and generally make pricing and consumer outcomes more efficient and transparent.
SB DATA frames the solar "value chain" broadly, covering the full lifecycle from project origination to grid integration, operations, and decommissioning. This is important because solar data problems tend to show up at handoffs: a developer hands information to a financier, an installer to a utility interconnection team, an asset owner to an operations and maintenance provider, or a portfolio manager to an investor. When those parties use different naming conventions, missing fields, incompatible file structures, or proprietary platforms that cannot communicate, costs go up and timelines stretch. The FOA explicitly connects better-coordinated data exchange with consumer protection and market expansion, arguing that standardized data helps prevent confusion and mismatched expectations, supports fairer and more consistent pricing, and makes it easier for new entrants to build products and services (for example, new financial and underwriting products or more scalable O&M offerings) without having to reinvent integrations for every counterparty.
The program also defines a clear, adoption-based measure of success rather than just producing technical artifacts. SunShot, the DOE solar initiative referenced in the announcement, defines success as wide adoption of the resulting data standards by stakeholders representing at least 60 percent of the U.S. solar industry, measured in terms of deployed or managed residential and non-residential distributed solar assets in 2015. The list of intended stakeholders is broad and includes solar companies, developers, utilities, state governments, inverter manufacturers, financial institutions, investors, underwriters, real estate entities, and others. That adoption target underscores that the FOA is not only about creating a standard on paper; it is about getting it used at scale across the market actors who touch solar asset data.
From an applicant and funding mechanics standpoint, SB DATA was offered as a discretionary funding opportunity using cooperative agreements, meaning DOE expected to have substantial involvement during the project rather than issuing a hands-off grant. The FOA listed an estimated total funding amount of $5,000,000, with individual awards expected to range from $500,000 (floor) to $2,000,000 (ceiling). A cost share or matching requirement applied, which typically means recipients must contribute a portion of total project costs from non-federal sources. Eligibility was described as unrestricted in general (open to any type of entity), with the formal eligibility rules and any nuances directed to Section III.A of the FOA. The opportunity was posted on May 22, 2015, and had a closing date of July 31, 2015; it was later archived on May 5, 2017. The CFDA program number associated with it was 81.087 (Renewable Energy Research and Development).
For access and support, DOE provided an additional information link through the EERE Exchange portal and an email contact for the Solar Data Mailbox (solardata@ee.doe.gov) for help obtaining or viewing the full announcement. Overall, SB DATA is best understood as an enabling-market program: it is not paying to install panels, but to make the underlying information infrastructure of distributed solar more standardized and shareable so that financing, transactions, and long-term asset management become faster, cheaper, and less risky across the entire solar ecosystem.
SB DATA (DE-FOA-0001319) Grant Opportunity FAQs
What is the SB DATA funding opportunity?
The Solar Bankability Data to Advance Transactions and Access (SB DATA) funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0001319) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) effort administered through the Golden Field Office. It focuses on reducing "soft costs" in distributed solar by improving how solar data is defined, formatted, and exchanged across the industry.
What problem is SB DATA trying to solve?
SB DATA targets fragmented, inconsistent, and hard-to-share distributed solar data. These data issues create delays, duplicative work, manual re-entry, errors, and higher transaction costs when information needs to move between developers, installers, financiers, utilities, insurers, and other stakeholders.
What is the main goal of SB DATA?
The central purpose is to support the creation and adoption of industry-led, de facto open data standards for distributed solar, so information can move cleanly from one stakeholder to another throughout a project's lifecycle.
What does "industry-led" mean in this FOA?
"Industry-led" indicates DOE is not attempting to impose a single top-down data schema. Instead, the FOA funds work that helps the market converge on shared formats, definitions, and exchange methods that can be broadly implemented.
What kinds of data are emphasized in SB DATA?
The FOA emphasizes datasets that affect the "bankability" of solar assets, meaning data that lenders, tax equity, investors, insurers, underwriters, and other risk-focused parties use to assess performance risk and price capital.
How does SB DATA connect to financing and underwriting?
By improving data accessibility, quality, and interoperability, SB DATA aims to reduce friction in transactions and speed up underwriting and contracting. The intent is to make financing, insurance, and related risk decisions more efficient and transparent by relying on trustworthy, exchangeable data.
Does SB DATA cover only one part of the solar process, or the full lifecycle?
SB DATA frames the solar "value chain" broadly, covering the full lifecycle from project origination to grid integration, operations, and decommissioning. This reflects that data problems often appear at handoffs between organizations and systems at different project stages.
Why are "handoffs" a focus for this program?
Costs and delays increase when one party hands project information to another and the data does not align due to different naming conventions, missing fields, incompatible file structures, or proprietary platforms that do not communicate well.
How is success defined for SB DATA?
Success is defined by adoption, not just producing technical artifacts. SunShot (the DOE solar initiative referenced) defines success as wide adoption of the resulting data standards by stakeholders representing at least 60 percent of the U.S. solar industry, measured by deployed or managed residential and non-residential distributed solar assets in 2015.
Which stakeholders are intended to use or adopt the resulting standards?
The intended stakeholder set is broad and includes solar companies, developers, utilities, state governments, inverter manufacturers, financial institutions, investors, underwriters, real estate entities, and others involved with distributed solar asset data.
Is this funding meant to pay for installing solar panels?
No. SB DATA is positioned as an enabling-market program. It is intended to improve the underlying information infrastructure for distributed solar so transactions, financing, and long-term asset management can become faster, cheaper, and less risky.
What type of award instrument does SB DATA use?
SB DATA was offered as a discretionary funding opportunity using cooperative agreements, meaning DOE expected substantial involvement during the project rather than providing a hands-off grant.
How much total funding was estimated for SB DATA?
The FOA listed an estimated total funding amount of $5,000,000.
What was the expected award size range?
Individual awards were expected to range from $500,000 (floor) to $2,000,000 (ceiling).
Is there a cost share or matching requirement?
Yes. A cost share or matching requirement applied, meaning recipients typically must contribute a portion of total project costs from non-federal sources.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was described as unrestricted in general (open to any type of entity). The FOA directs applicants to Section III.A for the formal eligibility rules and any nuances.
When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?
The opportunity was posted on May 22, 2015, and had a closing date of July 31, 2015.
Is this FOA still active?
No. The opportunity was later archived on May 5, 2017.
What CFDA program number is associated with SB DATA?
The CFDA program number associated with the opportunity was 81.087 (Renewable Energy Research and Development).
Where could applicants find the full announcement or additional information?
DOE provided an additional information link through the EERE Exchange portal, and also provided an email contact for help obtaining or viewing the full announcement.
What is the contact email for questions about the FOA materials?
The FOA listed the Solar Data Mailbox at solardata@ee.doe.gov for help obtaining or viewing the full announcement.
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