UNDERSERVED AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY MICROGRIDS (UICM) | DE FOA 0002934

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002934

The UNDERSERVED AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY MICROGRIDS (UICM) funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0002934) is a discretionary grant program from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), administered through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), and it focuses on energy research, development, and demonstration work aimed at advancing microgrid solutions for communities that are often left out of major infrastructure investments. The core purpose is to fund RD and D projects that do not just solve a single local problem, but produce microgrid approaches that can be repeated and adapted in other places with similar constraints. The emphasis is on underserved and Indigenous communities, particularly those in remote or islanded regions across the United States where electricity service can be fragile, expensive, difficult to maintain, or vulnerable to disruptions.

At its center, this announcement targets the development and implementation of replicable microgrid solutions. In practical terms, a microgrid is a localized energy system that can operate connected to the larger grid or independently when necessary. For remote and islanded regions, the ability to run independently is often crucial because storms, wildfires, fuel supply interruptions, or simple distance from major transmission networks can make outages longer and recovery slower. By supporting demonstration-focused projects, the DOE is looking for efforts that go beyond planning studies and instead validate performance in real or realistic operating conditions, helping communities move from concepts to workable, maintainable energy systems.

The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally means DOE expects to be more involved than in a typical grant. Cooperative agreements often include substantial federal technical or programmatic engagement during the project, such as coordination on milestones, data collection, reporting expectations, and ensuring the results can inform broader adoption. This fits with the stated goal of creating solutions that others can replicate, since the government is usually interested in capturing lessons learned, standardized practices, and performance evidence that can be shared across regions and future deployments.

In terms of scale, the award ceiling is $2,000,000 per award, and DOE anticipated making about 12 awards under this opportunity. That combination suggests DOE intended to support a portfolio of projects rather than just a few large builds, likely encouraging varied approaches and community contexts to surface what works under different geographic, logistical, and governance conditions. The activity category is energy, and the CFDA (assistance listing) number is 81.122, which is associated with DOE financial assistance programs.

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning the opportunity was broadly open to many entity types, subject to any specific clarifications in the full announcement. In typical DOE microgrid and demonstration programs, applicants can include universities, national labs, state and local governments, tribal governments and tribally owned entities, nonprofits, and private-sector companies, often forming partnerships so that technical design, community engagement, operations, and long-term maintenance are all addressed. While the short summary here does not list required partners, the community-centered and demonstration nature of the program implies that strong local involvement and clear implementation pathways would be important to competitiveness and eventual success.

The timeline included a creation date of July 18, 2023, with an original closing date of September 15, 2023. That window indicates DOE was moving on an established schedule and expected applicants to be ready with well-formed project concepts, capable teams, and credible demonstration plans. Overall, UICM is best understood as a DOE effort to accelerate practical, field-tested microgrid solutions that improve resilience and energy access in remote and islanded areas, while producing models that can be repeated across underserved and Indigenous communities nationwide.

• The Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "UNDERSERVED AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY MICROGRIDS (UICM)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.122.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 18, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 15, 2023. (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 $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 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.

Apply for DE FOA 0002934

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