Recovery Act Announcement: DOE Issues Grant Solicitation for Wind Energy Consortia between Universities and Industry

(EERE News, June 2, 2009) DOE has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled, “Recovery Act: Wind Energy Consortia between Institutions of Higher Learning and Industry.” This funding was originally announced by Secretary Chu on April 29. The FOA provides $24 million for the development of consortia between universities and industry to focus on critical wind energy challenges. The FOA and can be found at FedConnect by searching for the Reference Number DE-FOA-0000090. This $24 million program initiative will fund consortia between institutions of higher learning and industry that will perform focused research on critical wind energy challenges. DOE intends to award 2-3 grants. The maximum range of a DOE award will be between $8-12 million. Applicants must provide at least a 10% cost share of total project costs including at least 20% for R&D. DOE funds will be provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to preserve and create jobs, promote economic recovery, and provide investments needed to increase wind energy R&D.

Applicants need to address two complementary areas:

Partnerships for Wind Research and Turbine Reliability: Universities in regions of the country in a Power Class 3 at 50 meters or greater wind region with consistent wind resources throughout the year are encouraged to team with industry partners to establish facilities/equipment and a research agenda necessary to study major challenges facing today’s wind industry. Proposals that address one or more challenges described in the “20% Wind Energy by 2030″ report and include descriptions of how the wind hardware and software purchased will be acquired. DOE will highly encourage research in “turbine reliability” as a topic in any consortia proposal.

Wind Energy Research & Development: University R&D to advance material design, performance measurements, analytical models, and leveraging partnerships with industry to improve power systems operations, maintenance or repair operations, wind turbine and/or component manufacturing, and interdisciplinary system integration. Fellowships, internships, etc. may be used to support the research agenda. Universities are encouraged to partner with the wind industry in defining their R&D agenda, developing their curriculum, and intern partnerships.

The announcement includes instructions for a letter of intent requirement and the FOA application. Only those applicants who submit a letter of intent are eligible to submit final applications under this announcement. Applicants who have not submitted a letter of intent will not be considered for an award. The applicant and consortium members may only submit a letter of intent and FOA application on one team. Letters of intent are due by June 16, 2009 and FOA applications are due by July 30, 2009.