7/6/2009

On June 29, 2009 the Department of Energy ("DO") issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement to provide grants to implement the Building America ("BA") program. The BA program is part of DOE's Building Technologies Program, and its long-term goal is to develop cost-effective, production-ready systems in five major climate zones that will result in zero energy homes, which produce as much energy as they use, by 2020. The BA program does not pay for home improvements; rather, it pays for showing the home building industry how to minimize the cost of building or retrofitting with significantly improved energy efficiency.

All types of domestic entities are eligible to apply excluding other federal agencies, Federally Funded Research and Development Center contractors and lobbying nonprofits. Closing date for applications is August 24, 2009, and no letter of intent is required.

The funding, which is estimated at between $25 million and $31 million, is allocated between two areas of interest:

Area of Interest 1: "Building America Teams" seeks Industry Teams to continue the highly effective partnerships BA has established to implement the research and technical support program for new and existing homes. Teams selected under Area of Interest 1 will focus on new homes (roughly 75% of their effort), but also be involved in efforts to increase the efficiency gains and reduce the cost of retrofits (roughly 25% of their effort). DOE anticipates making two to three awards under this area of interest of up to $5 million each per year for five years (excluding cost share of 20%). The first $10 million will come out of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("ARRA") monies, and thereafter the funds will depend on congressional appropriations.

Area of Interest 2: "Building America Retrofit Teams" seeks Industry Teams to stimulate the existing home retrofit market through research and technical support to increase the efficiency gains and reduce the cost of retrofits. DOE anticipates making two to four awards under this area of interest of up to $5 million each per year for five years (excluding cost share of 20%). The entire $15 million allocated to this area of interest will come out of ARRA monies.

If you have questions about any of these funding opportunity announcements or other renewable energy issues, or if you would like to discuss the possibility of your project applying for these or other government funds, please contact:

Seattle, Washington
David Benson at (206) 386-7584 or dlbenson@stoel.com
Janet F. Jacobs at (206) 386-7582 or jfjacobs@stoel.com
J. Graham Noyes at (206) 386-7615 or jgnoyes@stoel.com
John Laney at (206) 386-7559 or jslaney@stoel.com

Portland, Oregon
Marcus Wood at (503) 294-9434 or mwood@stoel.com
Bill Holmes at (503) 294-9207 or whholmes@stoel.com
Dina Dubson at (503) 294-9675 or dmdubson@stoel.com

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Greg Jenner at (612) 373-8857 or gfjenner@stoel.com
Debra Frimerman at (612) 373-8819 or dhfrimerman@stoel.com

Sacramento, California
John McKinsey at (916) 319-4746 or jamckinsey@stoel.com
Lee Smith at (916) 319-4651 or lnsmith@stoel.com
Seth Hilton at (916) 319-4749 or sdhilton@stoel.com

San Diego, California
Brian Nese at (858) 794-4102 or bjnese@stoel.com