On Feb. 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy announced $50 million in funding to deploy clean energy projects on tribal lands. Individual awards for clean energy projects will range from $100,000 to $5 million, depending on the area of interest. The DOE anticipates making 10 to 20 awards during this round.

Eligible projects (“Areas of Interest”) include:

  1. installation of clean energy generating systems and/or energy efficiency measures for tribal buildings;
  2. deployment of community-scale clean energy generating systems or community energy storage deployment;
  3. installation of integrated energy systems for autonomous operation (independent of the traditional centralized electric power grid) to power a single or multiple essential tribal buildings during emergency situations or a substantial number of essential tribal buildings for tribal community resilience; or
  4. to power unelectrified tribal buildings through integrated energy systems or energy infrastructure.

For this grant opportunity, the DOE will require a 20% recipient cost share. However, the DOE may allow a reduced cost share down to 10% based on poverty rate and median household income of the tribal community relative to the statewide median household income.

Applications are due May 30, 2024, at 5:00 PM EST.

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