Notice of Intent (NOI) for Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA0002801 | DE FOA 0002834

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002834

This opportunity is a Notice of Intent (NOI) from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), specifically the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) acting on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office. The NOI signals that DOE plans to release a formal Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in the near term under the title "Advancing Fish Passage and Protection Technologies." In practical terms, the NOI is an early heads-up to organizations that may want to compete for funding once the full FOA is published, giving them time to begin planning, forming partnerships, and preparing technical concepts before the official application window opens.

The focus area is energy, with an emphasis on water power and environmental technology at or around hydropower and other water infrastructure where fish movement and survival can be affected. The title indicates the anticipated FOA will support the advancement of technologies that help fish pass barriers (fish passage) and reduce harm from interacting with infrastructure (fish protection). While the NOI itself does not provide program specifics like topic areas, technical performance targets, or required project scope, it clearly frames DOE interest in solutions that enable aquatic species to migrate or navigate water systems more safely and effectively while supporting water power operations and broader grid and renewable energy goals.

In terms of administrative details, the agency is listed as the Department of Energy, Golden Field Office. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and the funding instrument type is labeled "Other," which often indicates the final FOA may use a mechanism that is not strictly a standard grant category in the summary listing, or that the exact instrument will be clarified later in the FOA. The associated CFDA number is 81.087, which is tied to DOE programs in this space. The posting date shown is August 23, 2022, and the original closing date shown is January 31, 2023; however, because this is an NOI and the text emphasizes that details are subject to change, those dates should be treated as placeholders tied to the notice record rather than definitive deadlines for a full competition unless confirmed in the final FOA.

Eligibility is described as "Unrestricted," meaning it is open to any type of entity, unless the eventual FOA introduces additional constraints or clarifications. That typically leaves the door open to a wide range of applicants such as private companies (including startups), universities, national laboratories, state and local governments, Tribes, nonprofits, and other organizations, as long as they meet the requirements that will be spelled out in the FOA. Because the NOI explicitly says EERE will not respond to questions about the notice, prospective applicants are expected to wait until the FOA is released for an official Q&A process, at which point DOE will provide a formal channel for submitting questions and receiving answers that apply to all applicants.

One important point in the source data is that the award ceiling and expected number of awards are both shown as 0. That is consistent with a notice record that is not yet the full funding announcement, and it suggests DOE had not finalized or was not publishing budget and portfolio details at the NOI stage. The key takeaway is that this is not the document where you should expect to find funding amounts, cost share requirements, technical readiness level targets, submission package requirements, merit review criteria, or mandatory compliance elements. Those details are normally included in the final FOA.

Anyone interested in pursuing this opportunity is directed to the EERE Exchange website (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/), which is DOE EERE's primary platform for publishing FOAs and managing the application process. The NOI stresses that the information provided may change, so the most reliable approach is to monitor the EERE Exchange listing for the release of the full FOA titled "Advancing Fish Passage and Protection Technologies," then review the final eligibility rules, topic areas, submission deadlines, and application instructions once they are officially posted.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent (NOI) for Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA0002801" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 23, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 31, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for DE FOA 0002834

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