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Overall electricity access rate in Zambia currently stands at 31%. The situation is more challenging in rural areas where the access to electricity is less than 5%. This low access impedes Zambia's economic development. Increased access to electricity can increase economic growth and spur investment and trade, thereby reducing poverty. The national electricity grid will not be extended soon to most of the areas that currently lack electricity. Therefore, the increased utilization of other technologies, such as solar, offers an immediate and more realistic solution to the electricity access challenge. To support the increased utilization of solar technologies, there is a need to develop a cadre of trained solar professionals (installation and maintenance) throughout Zambia who can offer their services to both institutional and residential users. Furthermore, there are various projects to install solar technologies underway in support of different sector goals, such as health, education, water and sanitation. Supporting the development of expanded solar technology human capacity will ensure that solar technologies are installed, operating correctly, and well maintained. USAID/Zambia seeks information to help inform an intervention that is aimed at supporting a Zambia-based organization to provide regular training in solar technology installation and maintenance. The goal is to increase the use of solar technologies in Zambia via the development of these trained solar professionals.

The SunShot Initiative (SunShot) is a national collaborative effort to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity by the end of the decade. The installed cost of solar photovoltaics (PV) has reduced significantly in recent years, spurring significant and accelerating deployment of PV systems. With the anticipated proliferation of solar power at the centralized and distributed scales, the variability and uncertainty of the solar resource poses challenges for reliably integrating photovoltaics (PV) with electric power systems, both at the distribution and bulk system levels. The goal of the Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, SHINES Funding Opportunity is to enable the development and demonstration of integrated, scalable, and cost-effective technologies for solar that incorporates energy storage and works seamlessly to meet both consumer needs and the needs of the electricity grid. Such an integrated solution should utilize smart inverters, and be capable of working with smart buildings, smart appliances, and utility communication and control systems. The solutions thus developed will enable widespread sustainable deployment of low-cost, flexible, and reliable PV generation, and provide for successful integration of PV power plants with the electric grid. The full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. Applications must be submitted through the EERE eXCHANGE website to be considered for award. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guide for the EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website https://eere- exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system. Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of the announcement and where to submit questions regarding submission of applications is found in the full FOA posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website.

Through the program, grants of up to $25,000 (grades 6 through 12) or $50,000 (colleges and universities) will be awarded to projects that reach at least a hundred students and that are aligned with Constellation's Energy to Educate Innovation Themes. Themes identified by the company that are eligible for support include: Smart Home - How will new technologies and artificial intelligence transform home energy usage in the future? More and more, homes are generating their own electricity and interactive technology is becoming a part of our daily lives. Sample topics include onsite generation, smart home energy tech, voice and gesture interfaces, and home energy data. Electrification - What will the future of transportation look like? New technologies are poised to power us into a cleaner energy future. Sample topics include electric vehicles, electric buses, electric charging infrastructure, and fuel conversions. Clean Energy & Zero Waste - How do we understand which energy sources and choices will have the greatest impact on our collective and individual carbon footprint? What if we could harness and store energy that would otherwise be wasted? Sample topics include low-carbon energy, clean energy sources, waste to energy, biomass, energy storage, and fuel cells.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Fuel Cell Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled ?Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Research, Development, and Demonstrations?. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will cover a broad spectrum of the FCTO portfolio with topics ranging from research and development (R&D) to demonstration and deployment projects. In particular, the R&D areas of interest for this FOA include hydrogen production via microbial biomass conversion; low PGM catalyst development for PEM fuel cell applications; development of an integrated intelligent hydrogen dispenser; and fuel cell and hydrogen manufacturing R&D focusing on hydrogen delivery pipeline manufacturing R&D. This FOA also includes demonstration topic areas that will help to accelerate adoption of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies with specific interest in mobile hydrogen refue lers, fuel cell powered range extenders for light duty hybrid electric vehicles, and a Communities of Excellence topic featuring hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. The FOA will include two general Areas of Interest each with several Subtopics: Area of Interest 1: Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies Research and Development (R&D) 1a. Hydrogen Production R&D: Microbial Biomass Conversion. 1b. Fuel Cell Technologies R&D: Low Platinum Group Metal Catalysts and Supports. 1c. Hydrogen Delivery R&D: Integrated Intelligent Hydrogen Dispensers for 700 bar Gaseous Refueling of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles. 1d. Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Manufacturing R&D: Hydrogen Delivery Pipeline Manufacturing. Area of Interest 2: Demonstration and Deployments to Enable Early Adoption of Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies. 2a. Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Validation: Mobile Refueling. 2b. Market Transformation: Demonstration and Deployment of Plug-In Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Light- Duty Vehicle. 2c. FCTO Crosscutting: America?s Climate Commu

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Solar Energy Technology Office (SETO) is seeking applications under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to fund applied research and development to enable the reduction of the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) generated by concentrating solar power (CSP) to 6 ¢/kWh-electric or less, without subsidies. This FOA intends to develop integrated thermal system solutions to overcome the temperature limitations of current CSP systems, while lowering capital costs by enabling the use of advanced turbines and achieving a higher overall system efficiency in converting solar thermal energy into electricity. Applications to this FOA are expected to advance individual high temperature components which have been developed at lab scale, and test them as an integrated system at a multi-MW thermal scale that can accept solar thermal energy, store it, and efficiently deliver it to a working fluid at high temperature, representative of a high efficiency power cycle.

U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy Announcement of Teaming Partner List for Upcoming Funding Opportunity Announcement: Reliable Electricity Based on Electrochemical Systems (REBELS) The Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy (ARPA-E) intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled Reliable Electricity Based on Electrochemical Systems (REBELS) to solicit applications for financial assistance to fund new intermediate temperature fuel cell (ITFC) technologies that efficiently generate stationary power from fossil fuels in the near-term, while simultaneously building a bridge to a zero carbon future. Currently, ARPA-E anticipates that there will be three specific areas of interest indentified in the REBELS FOA as follows: (1) low-cost, efficient, reliable ITFCs for small distributed generation applications, (2) ITFCs that are capable of in-situ charge storage in an electrode to enable battery-like response to transients, and (3) electrochemical devices that produce liquid fuels from methane using excess renewable resources. Fuel cell systems based on existing Department of Energy R&D programs, such as low temperature polymer exchange membrane (LT-PEM) and high temperature solid oxide fuel cells (HT-SOFCs), will not be areas of interest for the anticipated REBELS FOA. 

The Concentrating Solar Power: Efficiently Leveraging Equilibrium Mechanisms for Engineering New Thermochemical Storage (CSP: ELEMENTS) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking applications that integrate Thermochemical Energy Storage (TCES) systems with a minimum of 6 hours of thermal storage to be used in ≥1 Megawatt-electric (≥1 MWe) scale CSP electricity generation that have promise to achieve a cost target of ≤$15 per kilowatt-hour-thermal (≤$15/kWhth) are the focus of this FOA. Successful projects will culminate in an on-sun demonstration of the thermochemical reactor along with reliable projections of the full scale performance of the integrated storage system through the utilization of validated performance models developed as part of the research and development effort.

Recent advances in communications, computation, and sensing technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for the design of cyber-physical systems with increased responsiveness, interconnectivity and automation. To meet new challenges and societal needs, the Energy, Power, Control andNetworks (EPCN) Program invests in systems and control methods for analysis and design of cyber-physical systems to ensure stability, performance, robustness, and security. Topics of interest include modeling, optimization, learning, and control of networked multi-agent systems, higher-level decision making, and dynamic resource allocation as well as risk management in the presence of uncertainty, sub-system failures and stochastic disturbances. EPCN also invests in adaptive dynamic programing, brain-like networked architectures performing real-time learning, and neuromorphic engineering. EPCN supports innovative proposals dealing with systems research in such areas as energy, transportation, and nanotechnology. EPCN places emphasis on electric power systems, including generation, transmission, storage, and integration of renewables; power electronics and drives; battery management systems; hybrid and electric vehicles; and understanding of the interplay of power systems with associated regulatory and economic structures and with consumer behavior. Also of interest are interdependencies of power and energy systems with other critical infrastructures. Topics of interest also include systems analysis and design for energy scavenging and alternate energy technologies such as solar, wind, and hydrokinetic. The program also supports innovative tools and test beds, as well as curriculum development integrating research and education. In addition to single investigator projects, EPCN encourages cross-disciplinary proposals that benefit from active collaboration of researchers with complementary skills. Proposals for the EPCN program may involve collaborative research to capture the breadth of

Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the Department's Office of Indian Energy is soliciting applications from Indian tribes (including Alaska Native regional corporations, village corporations, tribal consortia, and tribal organizations) and Tribal Energy Resource Development Organizations to install (1) facility-scale clean energy and energy efficiency projects and (2) community-scale clean energy projects on Indian lands. The Funding Opportunity Announcement is soliciting applications under two Topic Areas: (1) Install clean energy and energy efficiency retrofit projects for tribal buildings (Topic Area 1); a. Clean Energy Systems (Topic Area 1.a.) b. "Deep Energy Retrofit" Energy Efficiency Measures (Topic Area 1.b.) And, (2) Deploy clean energy systems on a community-scale (Topic Area 2). Under Topic Area 1, DOE is seeking applications for the deployment of facility-scale: (a) clean energy systems (renewable energy power systems or combined heat and power systems) to displace electrical, heating and/or cooling loads by at least 15%; and (b) deep energy retrofit energy efficiency measures to reduce the total of all energy used in a building or buildings by at least a 20%. Under Topic Area 2, DOE is soliciting applications for the deployment of community-scale clean energy systems of 50 kW or more (or for heating or cooling the Btu equivalent of 170,607 Btu/hour) on Indian lands to provide electricity, and/or heating or cooling for many buildings or to an entire tribal community. Under this FOA, a 50% cost share of total project costs (100% match against DOE funds) is required, unless an Applicant requests a reduction in the cost share as part of the application and receives approval from DOE. Applicants may request up to a 40% reduction in cost share, to no less than 10% of the total project costs. Cost share reduction requests to less than 10% will not be considered. If DOE does not grant a request for reduced cost share, the Applicant will

The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is an organization focused on achieving aggressive and well-defined mid-to-long term clean energy goals for the United States of America. In that context, EERE has established multi-year plans and roadmaps. EERE focuses the majority of its resources on a limited number of "highest probability of success" pathways/approaches to ensure that the program initiatives are supported at a critical mass (both in terms of dollars and time) for maximum impact. This roadmap-based approach is one of EERE's greatest strengths, but it can create challenges in recognizing and exploring unanticipated, game changing pathways/approaches which may ultimately be superior to the pathways/approaches on our existing roadmaps. To enhance the responsiveness of the roadmap approach, EERE is continuing to issue "Incubator" Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) within its existing Offices and programs to support innovative technologies and solutions that could help meet existing goals but are not represented in a significant way in the Offices' existing Multi-Year Program Plans (MYPPs) or current portfolios. The Incubator programs will allow EERE to assess new technologies for their potential to be ?on ramped? to future MYPPs. Successful incubator projects will reduce the risk associated with potentially breakthrough approaches and technologies so that they could be viable candidates for inclusion in future program roadmaps. DOEs Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) develops and deploys efficient and environmentally friendly highway transportation technologies that will enable America to use less petroleum. These technologies will provide Americans with greater freedom of mobility and energy security, while lowering costs and reducing impacts on the environment. For example, the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge requires dramatic improvements in plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) performance and cost that are specified as technical targets

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Solar Energy Technology Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled "Advanced Systems Integration for Solar Technologies". This FOA supports the mission of the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) which is to support early-stage research and development to improve the performance and flexibility of solar technologies that contribute to a reliable and resilient U.S. electric grid. The office invests in innovative research efforts that securely integrate more solar energy into the grid, enhance the use, storage and dispatch of solar energy, and lower solar electricity costs. DOE is committed to improving the affordability of energy technologies and strengthening the Energy Sector's capability to withstand cyber and physical threats, including natural disasters. Improving the strategic location and situational awareness of solar systems can help ensure continuity of service in the face of widespread and coordinated threats. Developing innovative approaches to accelerate the transfer of solar system solutions that will improve Energy Sector resilience is also a priority.

The Electrochemical Systems program is part of the Chemical Process Systems cluster, which also includes: 1) the Catalysis program; 2) the Interfacial Engineering program; and 3) the Process Systems, Reaction Engineering, and Molecular Thermodynamics program. The goal of the Electrochemical Systems program is to support fundamental engineering research that will enable innovative processes involving electro- or photochemistry for the sustainable production of electricity, fuels, and chemicals. Processes for sustainable energy and chemical production must be scalable, environmentally benign, reduce greenhouse gas production, and utilize renewable resources. Research projects that stress fundamental understanding of phenomena that directly impact key barriers to improved system or component-level performance (for example, energy efficiency, product yield, process intensification) are encouraged. Processes for energy storage should address fundamental research barriers for the applications of renewable electricity storage or for transport propulsion. For projects concerning energy storage materials, proposals should involve hypotheses that involve device or component performance characteristics that are tied to fundamental understanding of transport, kinetics, or thermodynamics. Advanced chemistries are encouraged. Proposed research should be inspired by the need for economic and impactful conversion processes. All proposal project descriptions should address how the proposed work, if successful, will improve process realization and economic feasibility and compare the proposed work against current state of the art. Highly integrated multidisciplinary projects are encouraged.

The goal of the Energy for Sustainability program is to support fundamental engineering research that will enable innovative processes and solutions for the sustainable production of electricity and fuels, and energy storage. Processes for sustainable energy production must be environmentally benign, reduce greenhouse gas production, and utilize renewable resources.

The goal of the Energy for Sustainability program is to support fundamental engineering research that will enable innovative processes and solutions for the sustainable production of electricity and fuels, and energy storage. Processes for sustainable energy production must be environmentally benign, reduce greenhouse gas production, and utilize renewable resources. 

The Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) will consider proposals for collaborative funding with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) [formerly the Water Environment Research Foundation], and/or the Water Research Foundation (WRF). For a proposal to be considered for collaborative funding, the proposal must be submitted to the appropriate NSF-CBET program as an unsolicited proposal during the CBET unsolicited submission window, which is October 1, 2016 - October 20, 2016. The same dates will apply in future years. Proposals will be reviewed as part of the unsolicited program(s). Proposals must follow guidelines for the CBET program to which they are submitted. Proposals will be evaluated according to the NSF criteria of intellectual merit and broader impacts.

The Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) will consider proposals for collaborative funding with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) [formerly the Water Environment Research Foundation], and/or the Water Research Foundation (WRF). For a proposal to be considered for collaborative funding, the proposal must be submitted to the appropriate NSF-CBET program as an unsolicited proposal during the CBET unsolicited submission window, which is October 1, 2016 - October 20, 2016. The same dates will apply in future years. Proposals will be reviewed as part of the unsolicited program(s). Proposals must follow guidelines for the CBET program to which they are submitted. Proposals will be evaluated according to the NSF criteria of intellectual merit and broader impacts.

The Geophysics Program supports basic research in the physics of the solid earth to explore its composition, structure, and processes from the Earth's surface to its' deepest interior. Laboratory, field, theoretical, and computational studies are supported. Topics include (but are not limited to) seismicity, seismic wave propagation, and the nature and occurrence of geophysical hazards; the Earth's magnetic, gravity, and electrical fields; the Earth's thermal structure; and geodynamics. Supported research also includes geophysical studies of active deformation, including geodesy, and theoretical and experimental studies of the properties and behavior of Earth materials.

The goal of the Energy for Sustainability program is to support fundamental engineering research that will enable innovative processes and solutions for the sustainable production of electricity and fuels, and energy storage. Processes for sustainable energy production must be environmentally benign, reduce greenhouse gas production, and utilize renewable resources. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing research that will contribute to an improved ability to understand and anticipate the public health and environmental impacts and behavioral drivers of significant changes in energy production and consumption in the United States, particularly those changes associated with advancing toward the deep decarbonization necessary to achieve national and international climate change mitigation objectives and avoid the most significant health, environmental, and economic impacts of climate change. The proposed research is intended to contribute to the development of new insights and predictive tools related to the multimedia, life-cycle impacts of the decarbonization of electricity generation; the electrification of end uses; the adoption of low-carbon emitting, renewable fuels; and the adoption of energy efficiency measures. The proposed research is also intended to contribute to an improved understanding of the drivers of individual, firm (i.e. business), and community decisions that affect energy consumption patterns, including decisions about the adoption of new technologies and energy efficiency measures.

The goal of the Energy for Sustainability program is to support fundamental engineering research that will enable innovative processes for the sustainable production of electricity and fuels, and for energy storage. Processes for sustainable energy production must be environmentally benign, reduce greenhouse gas production, and utilize renewable resources. Research projects that stress molecular level understanding of phenomena that directly impacts key barriers to improved system level performance (e.g. energy efficiency, product yield, process intensification) are encouraged. Proposed research should be inspired by the need for economic and impactful conversion processes. All proposals should include in the project description, how the proposed work, if successful, will improve process realization and economic feasibility and compare the proposed work against current state-of-the-art. Highly integrated multidisciplinary projects are encouraged.

The Chemical and Biological Separations (CBS) program supports fundamental research on novel methods and materials for separation processes.  These processes are central to the chemical, biochemical, materials, energy, and pharmaceutical industries.  A fundamental understanding of the interfacial, transport, and thermodynamic behavior of multiphase chemical systems as well as quantitative descriptions of processing characteristics in the process-oriented industries is critical for efficient resource management and effective environmental protection.  The program encourages proposals that address emerging research areas and technologies, have a high degree of interdisciplinary thought coupled with knowledge creation, and integrate education and research. Research topics OF PARTICULAR INTEREST in CBS include fundamental molecular-level work on: Nanostructured materials for separations Biorenewable resource separation processes Purification of drinking water Field (flow, magnetic, electrical) induced separations Separation of molecular constituents from blood The duration of unsolicited awards is generally one to three years.  The average annual award size for the program is $80,000.  Proposals requesting a substantially higher amount than this, without prior consultation with the Program Director, may be returned without review.  Small equipment proposals of less than $100,000 will also be considered and may be submitted during the annual submission window. 

The Materials Engineering and Processing (MEP) program supports fundamental research addressing the interrelationship of materials processing, structure, properties and/or life-cycle performance for targeted applications. Research proposals should be driven by the performance or output of the material system relative to the targeted application(s). Research plans driven by scientific hypotheses are encouraged when suitable. Materials in bulk form or focus on special zones such as surfaces or interfaces that are to be used in structural and/or functional applications are appropriate. All material systems are of interest including polymers, metals, ceramics, semiconductors, composites and hybrids thereof. Analytical, experimental, and numerical studies are supported and collaborative proposals with industry (GOALI) are encouraged.Areas of interest include: Functional Materials - materials that possess native properties and functions that can be controlled by external forces such as temperature, light, electric field, pH, etc. These include materials that exhibit properties such as electronic, magnetic, piezoelectric, ferroelectric, photovoltaic, chromogenic, shape memory, thermoelectric or self-healing, etc. Structural Materials - materials that, in service, bear mechanical load. Length scales from nano to meso to macro are of interest as are materials in the bulk or in special configuration such as thin film. These include materials such as metals, polymers, composites, biomaterials, ceramics, hybrids, cement, etc. Materials Processing - processes that convert material into useful form as either intermediate or final composition. These include processes such as extrusion, molding, casting, deposition, sintering, printing, etc. Proposed research should include the consideration of cost, performance, and feasibility of scale-up, as appropriate. Research that addresses multi-scale and/or multi-functional materials systems is encouraged as is research in support of envir