Notice of Intent DE-FOA-0003423: Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas FY24 Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0003428 | DE FOA 0003423

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003423

Notice of Intent DE-FOA-0003423 signals that the U.S. Department of Energy, through its Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), is preparing to release a full Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) titled "Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas FY24" (referenced as DE-FOA-0003428). This is an early heads-up rather than the final application package, meaning details may still change as the NOFO is finalized. The core focus is straightforward: support practical, replicable clean energy projects in rural or remote communities that produce real, lasting improvements in affordability, reliability, resilience, and local economic conditions.

The intent of this funding is to deliver measurable and sustained benefits for people living in rural or remote areas. OCED is targeting projects that can lower energy costs, improve energy access, strengthen resilience against outages and extreme weather, increase economic opportunity, and reduce environmental harms tied to existing energy systems. A strong emphasis is placed on demonstrating approaches that are built to handle climate stresses, such as storms, heat, wildfire risk, or supply disruptions. Beyond the technology itself, DOE is looking for models that can be repeated elsewhere, so proposals that clearly document how and why the approach can be scaled or copied by other communities are aligned with the purpose of the program.

Another major theme is the idea that technology alone is not enough. The NOI highlights rural and remote energy system approaches that pair climate-resilient technologies with business structures that promote economic resilience and financing mechanisms that are accessible and appropriate for the communities involved. In practice, this points toward projects designed around local realities: smaller customer bases, higher per-mile infrastructure costs, limited access to capital, and the need for solutions that can be operated and maintained locally over time. The notice also calls out best practices in community leadership, engagement, and workforce development, suggesting DOE wants projects that are community-informed, inclusive, and capable of building local skills rather than relying indefinitely on outside expertise.

The funding is expected to cover the kinds of direct project costs that typically make these efforts possible in high-cost, hard-to-serve areas. That includes materials, equipment, labor, and time needed to build clean energy projects in rural or remote communities. It can also support other allowable activities that strengthen the project and its impact, such as collaboration, outreach, and engagement with Tribes and other stakeholders, as well as workforce development programs. This broader allowance matters because rural and remote projects often succeed or fail based on planning, trust-building, local coordination, training, and long-term operational readiness, not just construction.

From the source data, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and will be issued as cooperative agreements. Cooperative agreements generally involve more substantial federal involvement than a standard grant, often including ongoing collaboration, reporting, and coordination with DOE during the project. The activity category is energy, and the listing is associated with CFDA number 81.255. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, which typically means a wide range of applicants may apply, though the eventual NOFO may still define specific eligibility requirements, partnerships, or geographic qualifications tied to "rural or remote" definitions.

In terms of scale, the opportunity indicates an award ceiling of $50,000,000 and an expectation of about 69 awards. Those numbers suggest DOE anticipates funding a sizable portfolio of projects that may vary widely in scope, from smaller community-scale builds to larger multi-component demonstrations, depending on the eventual structure of funding tiers or topic areas in the final NOFO. The closing date shown is 2024-09-30, but since this is a notice of intent and the plan may evolve, applicants should treat that as provisional until the actual NOFO is released with official deadlines and submission instructions.

Overall, the NOI communicates a program designed to move beyond one-off pilot projects and instead build durable clean energy capacity in rural and remote America. The ideal projects are those that combine tangible infrastructure improvements with community engagement, workable financing and ownership models, and local workforce development, all while producing outcomes that can be measured and replicated in other rural or remote settings.

• The Headquarters in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent DE-FOA-0003423: Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas FY24 Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0003428" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.255.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-08-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-09-30. (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 $50,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 69 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for DE FOA 0003423

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