Acting on clean energy funding: opportunities for corporates in the US

On March 10th, Global Counsel spoke with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Steve Capanna, Director of Technology Innovation in the Office of Policy about how corporates can partner with DOE to advance decarbonization efforts.  DOE has $72 billion in energy-related funds from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) passed in 2021 (more details on this can be found in our recent blog). Given the crisis in the Ukraine, continued reliance on fossil fuel use casts dark twin shadows on both the energy dependence and climate change impacts of fossil resources. DOE’s funds can meaningfully help accelerate a low carbon future with corporates well positioned to play an integral role.

Links to DOE Resources 
 

1. A searchable list of the 70 programs at DOE funded by the IIJA 
2. General updates on DOE’s grants opportunities across the energy transition 
3. Engage early with DOE in the pre-proposal phase by responding to its Requests for Information (ROI) or Notices of Intent (NOI) on specific grant areas, like hydrogen hubs, or the nuclear credit program. All these dockets can be found here. All private sector feedback is valued by DOE, there is no need to engage each question, only those germane to your interest areas. Participating in ROI and NOI processes can help shape DOE grant processes.
4. Prospective hydrogen producers, end-users and investors interested in learning about and possibly joining a regional hydrogen team positioned to compete for DOE’s $8 billion in hydrogen hub funding, visit here

Key insights from the discussion
 

• Grant funding opportunities will be jump started this year and next.  
• Funds are generally available through 2026, though some funds were extended through 2031. Global Counsel believes DOE will expedite funding to ensure as much of these funds as possible are deployed before the next Administration is in place in January 2025.  
• Each grant opportunity will have a total capped amount, depending on the funds allocated through the IIJA.  Project-level grants may also be capped as determined by DOE.  
• DOE is likely to require cost sharing with the private sector for some grant funding opportunities and is interested in leveraging as much private capital as practicable.  Private cost-sharing requirements for grants will range by grant type but is likely to be close to 50% for most.