WASTE: Waste Analysis and Strategies for Transportation End-uses | DE FOA 0003072

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003072

The WASTE: Waste Analysis and Strategies for Transportation End-uses funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0003072) is a U.S. Department of Energy effort run through EERE and the Golden Field Office that focuses on helping communities turn organic waste problems into cleaner energy and transportation solutions. The main idea is to fund research, development, and project planning work that keeps organic wastes out of landfills and instead routes them into resource and energy recovery pathways. This directly supports federal climate goals because organic wastes are a major source of fugitive methane emissions, along with volatile organic compounds and other pollutants. The FOA is framed around the White House goal to reduce methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030, and it emphasizes that preventing landfilling is one of the most practical ways to cut methane at the community level. Beyond climate benefits, DOE highlights local quality-of-life improvements that can come from more holistic waste strategies, such as fewer negative impacts from waste hauling and processing infrastructure (reduced truck traffic, odors, litter, and related air, water, and public health effects).

The opportunity is organized into two topic areas that are meant to meet communities where they are in the project development cycle. Topic Area 1 is designed for applicants that have an idea or early concept but need to move beyond initial brainstorming into real feasibility or scoping work. DOE explicitly points out that many places, especially rural, remote, Tribal, and smaller communities, often do not have the staffing, time, or technical bandwidth to conduct the deeper analyses needed to responsibly plan a project. While technical assistance programs can help, this topic area uses direct financial support to close that capacity gap so communities can complete more rigorous feasibility assessments and make informed decisions about what is viable.

Topic Area 2 is meant for applicants that have already completed a feasibility analysis and now need funding to refine the concept into a more detailed and implementable design. DOE notes that the detailed design stage is frequently where municipal and nonprofit projects stall because the work is specialized and expensive. This topic area aims to bridge that gap and push projects closer to readiness. An important feature is that Topic Area 2 projects may have an opportunity to move into construction and operations of a designed pilot facility, depending on a down-select process described in the full FOA. In other words, the program is not just paying for reports; it is structured to potentially advance stronger projects toward real-world demonstration once designs have matured and been competitively reviewed.

Awards are expected to be made as cooperative agreements, which generally means DOE will likely have substantial involvement during the project rather than acting as a purely hands-off funder. The program anticipates about 10 awards, with an award ceiling of $2,000,000 per award. The funding activity categories tied to the listing include community development, energy, and transportation, reflecting the program’s intent to link waste-sector strategies with transportation end uses and broader community outcomes.

Eligibility is broad and community-centered. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; federally recognized Tribal governments; other Tribal organizations; and nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding institutions of higher education). The FOA also clarifies a definition for transit authorities, describing them as government agencies or municipally, regionally, or tribally contracted for-profit or nonprofit companies that provide or operate public transportation services on behalf of one or more municipalities or regional or Tribal governments. This definition matters because transportation end uses are part of the program focus, and transit agencies or their contracted operators may play a role in projects that connect recovered energy or fuels to vehicle fleets or related transportation applications.

The application process runs through EERE’s eXCHANGE system (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov), and the FOA stresses that the system enforces hard deadlines by automatically disabling submission buttons at the cutoff time. For this opportunity, the required concept paper deadline is 06/19/2024 at 5:00 PM ET, and the full application deadline is 08/14/2024 at 5:00 PM ET (the original closing date). If an applicant encounters technical issues before the deadline, they are instructed to contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk at exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov for support. If technical difficulties cause a late submission, DOE indicates it will only consider accepting it if the issue was beyond the applicant’s control, the applicant contacted the helpdesk for assistance, and the application is submitted through eXCHANGE within 24 hours after the posted deadline. Questions specifically about the FOA are directed to FY24WASTEFOA@ee.doe.gov, and the complete announcement is posted under DE-FOA-0003072 in the EERE eXCHANGE portal.

• The Golden Field Office in the community development, energy, transportation sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "WASTE: Waste Analysis and Strategies for Transportation End-uses" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-04-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-14. (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 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for DE FOA 0003072

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