DOE Issues Funding Opportunity Announcement "BENEFIT 2016"
Last month the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) 2016.” It covers some pretty cool areas, including sensor applications. There will be $20 million in federal funding available for projects in the following two areas: Innovations, focusing on early-stage topics; and Frontiers, emphasizing later-stage, roadmap-driven topics. Read on to learn more about this funding opportunity!
Topic Areas 1 through 3 in Innovations include: “Open Topic for Energy Efficiency Solutions for Residential and Commercial Buildings,” “Human-in-the-Loop Sensor & Control Systems,” and “Infiltration Diagnostics Technologies.” Topic Areas 4 and 5 in Frontiers are comprised of “Plug- and Play-Sensor Systems” and “Advanced Air-Sealing Technologies for Existing Buildings.”
This funding opportunity has grown significantly since it was first announced. In an amendment filed last week, the following modifications have been implemented:
- The total available federal funding has increased from $8 million to $20 million.
- The number of anticipated awards has increased to approximately 17-25.
- The submission date for Concept Papers has been pushed back one week to February 5, 2016.
- The second informational webinar has been rescheduled to March 17, 2016.
- EERE provided additional detail regarding building/grid interaction for Topic Areas 1, 2 and 4.
- The submission date for Full Applications has been extended until April 19, 2016.
Pursuant to the FOA, applicants must submit all 3 “Required Application Documents” in order to be considered. Again, interested parties must submit concept papers by February 5th so get started on your application today!
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