Advanced Wind R&D to Reduce Costs and Environmental Impacts | DE FOA 0001924

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001924

The Department of Energy (DOE), through its Golden Field Office and the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), released a discretionary funding opportunity called "Advanced Wind R&D to Reduce Costs and Environmental Impacts" (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0001924, CFDA 81.087). The aim is to fund early-stage, applied research, development, and validation that can make wind energy cheaper, more productive, and more broadly deployable across the United States. The FOA is framed around improving land-based, offshore, and distributed wind technologies while also tackling manufacturing challenges and market barriers. A central theme is balancing cost and performance gains with environmental and human-use considerations, meaning projects are expected to improve energy outcomes without ignoring wildlife impacts, community concerns, or operational constraints.

Funding is provided through cooperative agreements, which typically means DOE expects meaningful involvement during the project period (for example, technical feedback, project reviews, and coordination on milestones), rather than a hands-off grant. The opportunity is listed as unrestricted in terms of eligible applicants, indicating it is open to any entity type (such as companies, universities, nonprofits, and potentially state or local entities), with the caveat that applicants still need to follow any specific eligibility clarifications included in the full FOA text on EERE Exchange.

The FOA is organized into three topic areas. Topic Area 1, "Advancing Smart Curtailment Strategies," focuses on smarter ways to temporarily reduce turbine operation (curtailment) when needed, while minimizing lost energy production and still meeting goals like wildlife protection or grid-related requirements. In practice, this topic is about improving decision-making and control strategies so curtailment is more targeted, data-driven, and effective, rather than overly conservative shutdowns that reduce annual energy output.

Topic Area 2, "Advanced Component Research and Development," targets innovation in wind turbine components and subsystems. This can include improving reliability, durability, and performance of parts that drive operations and maintenance costs, and it can also encompass designs and manufacturing approaches that reduce cost or improve scalability. The intent is to push component-level advances that translate into measurable reductions in the cost of energy or improvements in system availability and safety.

Topic Area 3, "Development and Validation of Offshore Wind Monitoring and Mitigation Technologies," is aimed at offshore wind-specific challenges, particularly around monitoring and mitigating environmental impacts. This includes developing and proving technologies that can detect, measure, or reduce impacts on marine wildlife and habitats, and support responsible offshore wind deployment. The emphasis on "validation" signals DOE interest in solutions that are tested in relevant conditions and produce credible performance data, not just concepts or lab-only demonstrations.

DOE indicated an expected total of about six awards, with an award ceiling of $1,000,000 per award. The FOA was originally posted on July 17, 2018, with an original closing date of September 26, 2018. DOE also noted there would not be a webinar for this opportunity, so applicants were directed to rely on the full announcement documentation on the EERE Exchange portal for requirements, evaluation criteria, submission instructions, and any topic-specific constraints or definitions.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Advanced Wind R&D to Reduce Costs and Environmental Impacts" 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 Jul 17, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 26, 2018. (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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 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 0001924

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