Department of Energy & EERE allocation

Financial award

Solicitation Unsolicited 

proposal

Merit review Review

Formula grant 

application

COMPETITIVE NONCOMPETITIVE

Award management

Doing Business with 

the Office of Energy 

Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy’s 

(DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy (EERE) works 

with businesses, industries, universities, 

and other stakeholders to increase the 

use of renewable energy and energy 

efficiency technologies. 

This fact sheet outlines the variety of ways 

to work with EERE, including financial 

assistance and business opportunities. 

Financial Assistance

EERE encourages renewable energy 

and energy efficiency research and 

development in the private sector 

primarily through financial assistance 

awards. Financial assistance awards 

transfer money, property, or services 

to a recipient so that it can accomplish 

a public purpose authorized by federal 

statute. For example, a financial 

assistance award might be used to fund 

research to improve the efficiency of 

photovoltaic cells. 

Types of financial assistance directly 

funded by EERE include grants, 

cooperative agreements, continuation 

awards, and renewal awards. Indirect 

financial assistance may also be avail–

able through subawards, laboratory 

subcontracts, and cooperative research 

and development agreements. These 

types of financial assistance may be 

awarded on a competitive or noncompetitive basis.

Competitive

EERE’s primary funding vehicles for 

businesses, industries, universities, and 

other stakeholders are grants and coop–

erative agreements. Most EERE grants 

are awarded on a competitive basis. 

EERE solicits applications in specific 

program areas and selects projects based 

on a merit review process that includes 

industry and technology experts. 

Cooperative agreements are similar to 

grants, but they require more involvement from the federal government. In 

work performed through these agreements, the federal government exercises 

more control in technical implementation. This may include project collaboration, participation in project management, or intervention in the activity.

Financial opportunities for Native 

American tribes are detailed on the 

Tribal Energy Program Web site, www.

eere.energy.gov/wip/tribal.html, and 

include grants and project financing. 

The Tribal Energy Program provides 

financial and technical assistance to 

tribes for their renewable energy and 

energy efficiency projects.

To accomplish its mission, EERE works 

with DOE’s world-class national laboratories. The national laboratories that 

receive research funding from EERE 

often have financial opportunities for 

industry and outside organizations. 

The most common of these—laboratory subcontracts—are normally 

competitively selected and begin with 

a solicitation. Laboratory subcontracts 

are evaluated by laboratory contracting 

staff. Visit the individual laboratory 

Web sites to learn more.

In some cases, more than one business 

or organization may participate in a 

project funded by a grant or subcontract. In these cases, a subaward may 

be applicable. Subawards are financial 

support for businesses or organizations 

that work on a project but are not the 

primary awardee. Subawards are often 

planned into proposals for grants and 

other financial opportunities. They 

allow companies or organizations to 

bring in outside expertise that will 

benefit the project. Subawardees are 

subject to the same guidelines and 

requirements as the primary awardee.

If you have an invention you would like 

to get funded, you can seek funding for 

energy efficiency or renewable energy 

Financial Assistance Process

Congressional appropriation

Special Programs

•	Small Business Innovation Research 

Program (SBIR), www.eere.energy.

gov/office_eere/sbir.html

•	Small Business Technology Transfer 

program (STTR), www.eere.energy.

gov/office_eere/pdfs/sbir_program_

information_sheet.pdf

•	Advanced Research Projects 

Agency-Energy (ARPA-E),

arpa-e.energy.gov
technologies through several routes: the 

Small Business Innovation Research 

program (SBIR) and Small Business 

Technology Transfer program (STTR), 

through an unsolicited proposal, 

or, outside of EERE, through the 

Advanced Research Projects AgencyEnergy (ARPA-E).

The SBIR/STTR programs are operated 

by federal agencies that have substantial 

R&D budgets, through a set-aside 

mechanism tailored for competitions 

among small businesses only. 

ARPA-E was established within DOE 

under the 2007 America Competes Act. 

ARPA-E’s mission is to fund innovative 

projects that will develop transformational technologies to reduce America’s 

dependence on foreign energy imports; 

reduce U.S. energy-related emissions 

(including greenhouse gases); improve 

energy efficiency across all sectors of 

the U.S. economy; and ensure that the 

United States maintains its leadership 

in developing and deploying advanced 

energy technologies.

Noncompetitive

Financial assistance may be awarded on 

a noncompetitive basis through unsolicited proposals. An unsolicited proposal 

is an application for assistance that 

is not submitted at the request of the 

government or in response to a solicitation announcement. DOE’s central point 

for unsolicited proposals is the National 

Energy Technology Laboratory.

EERE also manages formula grants 

for state and local government energy 

projects, including the Weatherization 

Assistance Program, the State Energy 

Program (SEP), and the Energy 

Efficiency and Conservation Block 

Grant Program. Funding formulas 

are set by federal statute. State energy 

offices may also have programs and 

opportunities of interest.

In another form of noncompetitive 

funding, cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs), DOE 

funds a national lab to work with a 

private-sector partner to further research 

and development. Unlike other types 

of financial opportunities, CRADAs do 

not result in a financial award. In the 

simplest form of a CRADA partnership, each party contributes equally to 

the project in terms of labor, funding, 

and facilities. In more complex arrangements, the private partner may opt for 

a “funds in” arrangement, in which it 

defers part of the laboratory’s expenses.

Business Opportunities

Another way EERE partners with 

business is through the procurement 

of goods and services. A procurement 

contract is used to buy, lease, or barter 

property or services that will benefit 

the federal government. For example, 

EERE would use a procurement 

contract to purchase computers for 

its employees. If you have a product 

to offer, getting listed on the General 

Service Administration’s (GSA) 

schedule and bidders list is the first step 

toward selling products and services to 

the federal government. 

You also may be able to partner with 

an ESCO, or energy service company, 

to provide services to federal facilities. 

An ESCO is a commercial business 

providing designs and implementation of energy savings projects, energy 

conservation, energy infrastructure 

outsourcing, power generation and 

energy supply, and risk management. 

DOE maintains a list of qualified 

ESCOs contracted to provide energy 

savings performance contract services.

EERE’s Federal Energy Management 

Program offers a comprehensive guide 

“Selling Energy-Efficient Products to 

the Federal Government” at www.eere.

energy.gov/femp/pdfs/selling_eeprod–

ucts_to_gov.pdf . The guide gives 

tips on the “ABCs of Government 

Purchasing,” how to get on a bidder’s 

list, special opportunities for small businesses, and more. The booklet includes 

links to additional online resources.

Other Resources

DOE’s e-Center, e-center.doe.gov, 

contains more information on doing 

business with DOE. The Web site 

provides current business opportunities; 

registration for submitting proposals, 

bids, and applications; and information 

and guidance on the acquisition and 

financial assistance award process. 

Register with FedConnect, www.

fedconnect.net, to gain immediate 

access to information on current DOE 

business opportunities. This includes 

automated notifications and the

opportunity to electronically access

and download solicitations, submit

bids or proposals and, if selected, 

receive awards. 

FedBizOpps, www.fedbizopps.gov, is the 

system for all acquisition opportunities 

throughout the federal government. 

You can register with both FedBizOpps 

and Grants.gov to receive e-mail notifications of new opportunities.

A video, “Doing Business with the 

Department of Energy DVD,” is available which discusses the processes of 

doing business with the DOE. Click the 

link under “Training” at www.management.energy.gov/business_DOE.htm.

Learn More

www.eere.energy.gov/business

EERE Information Center

1-877-EERE-INFO (1-877-337-3463)

eere.energy.gov/informationcenter

DOE/GO-102010-3027 • October 2010

Printed with a renewable-source ink on paper containing at

least 50% wastepaper, including 10% post consumer waste.