Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002985
The Department of Energy (DOE), through its Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and administered by the DOE Golden Field Office, issued the funding opportunity called "Materials, Operation, and Recycling of Photovoltaics (MORE PV) - Funded in part by BIL" (Funding Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-0002985). The program is aimed at pushing photovoltaic (PV) technology toward cheaper, more sustainable, and more resilient deployment by tackling the full lifecycle of PV systems: the materials that go into them, how well they are installed and perform over time, and what happens when they reach end of life. The funding is offered as cooperative agreements, meaning DOE expects to be actively involved during the project period rather than acting only as a passive funder.
At a high level, MORE PV supports research and development that reduces material use, improves installation quality and system durability, and builds practical pathways for handling PV equipment once it is retired. The intent is not just incremental improvements to solar modules, but broader solutions that reduce overall system cost and lifecycle impacts, including environmental and supply-chain considerations. The FOA is framed around improving connected performance metrics at the same time: energy output and reliability, economic cost and scalability, and environmental footprint across manufacturing, deployment, and disposal or reuse.
The FOA is split into two topic areas with different funding sources and goals. Topic Area 1 is supported with $12 million in non-Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (non-BIL) funding and is structured to fund multiple collaborative projects. DOE is explicitly looking for teams made up of diverse stakeholders who can cover multiple stages of the PV lifecycle, bringing together complementary expertise such as manufacturing and materials science, project development and installation, operations and maintenance, and end-of-life management. These projects are expected to propose technology and design solutions that reduce cost and lifecycle impacts for PV systems and their components, and the scope can include co-located energy storage. A key theme in Topic Area 1 is optimization across tradeoffs: for example, designing systems that use fewer or lower-impact materials while also improving field performance, safety, and long-term resilience.
Topic Area 2 is funded with Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) dollars and is more targeted: DOE intends to fund a single research partnership, with an award ceiling of $8 million, focused specifically on end-of-life (EOL) practices and materials recovery for PV systems. This partnership is expected to improve materials recovery efficiency and establish safer, more effective EOL pathways for PV components, including not only PV modules but also inverters and other balance-of-system (BOS) hardware. The work is meant to make reuse, refurbishing, repair, and recycling lower cost and more scalable, while also defining best practices for safe disposal of PV-related materials where reuse or recycling is not feasible. Topic Area 2 also emphasizes coordination infrastructure, including data collection and analysis plus working groups designed to strengthen collaboration, accelerate learning across participants, and support technology transfer into real-world practice.
In terms of who can apply, eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) entities); for-profit organizations (including entities other than small businesses as well as small businesses); and even individuals, with a general catch-all category for other eligible applicants as described in the FOA’s additional eligibility language. This wide eligibility aligns with the FOA’s lifecycle approach, since credible solutions often require coordination across research organizations, manufacturers, installers, recyclers, waste handlers, and public-sector entities involved in permitting, environmental compliance, and infrastructure planning.
Administratively, the opportunity falls under the Energy funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 81.087. The FOA was created on July 24, 2023, with an original closing date of November 28, 2023. DOE anticipated making about seven total awards across the FOA, and the stated award ceiling is $8,000,000 (which aligns with the single partnership structure described under Topic Area 2, while Topic Area 1 supports multiple awards from its separate funding pool). Overall, MORE PV is designed to speed up sustainable solar deployment by funding practical R&D and partnerships that improve PV performance and resilience while also building credible, safer, and cheaper end-of-life solutions so solar scales without creating future waste and materials bottlenecks.Apply for DE FOA 0002985
- The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Materials, Operation, and Recycling of Photovoltaics (MORE PV) - Funded in part by BIL" 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 Jul 24, 2023.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 28, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $8,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| BIL - Carbon Utilization Procurement Grants under Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40302 Apply for DE FOA 0002829 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002829 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| 2023 Funding Opportunity Announcement for Energy Future Grants (EFG) Creating a Community-Led Energy Future Apply for DE FOA 0002870 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002870 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Energy Storage Demonstration and Validation Apply for DE FOA 0003036 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003036 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $5,000,000 |
| STORAGE INNOVATIONS 2030: TECHNOLOGY LIFTOFF Apply for DE FOA 0003020 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003020 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $5,000,000 |
| DE-FOA-0003138 Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0003139 - Distributed Energy Systems Demonstrations Apply for DE FOA 0003138 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003138 Agency: Department of Energy, Headquarters Category: Energy Funding Amount: $25,000,000 |
| Notice of Intent (NOI) no. DE-FOA-0003153 to issue Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) No.: DE-FOA-0003105 Apply for DE FOA 0003153 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003153 Agency: Department of Energy, Headquarters Category: Energy Funding Amount: $150,000,000 |
| Puerto Rico - Energy Resilience Fund Apply for DE FOA 0003096 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003096 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $200,000,000 |
| Request for Information (RFI) DE-FOA-0003156: Development of Green Shipping Corridors Between the United States and the United Kingdom Apply for DE FOA 0003156 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003156 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Electric Drive Vehicle Battery Recycling, Transport, and Design Apply for DE FOA 0003119 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003119 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0003097 Apply for DE FOA 0003129 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003129 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (CIFIA) Program: Future Growth Grants (Section 40304) Apply for DE FOA 0003079 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003079 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Inflation Reduction Act - Transmission Siting and Economic Development Program Apply for DE FOA 0003101 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003101 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $50,000,000 |
| Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grants Apply for DE FOA 0003106 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003106 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $500,000,000 |
| Notice of Intent (NOI) to issue Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA0003142 Apply for DE FOA 0003142 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003142 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Notice of Intent (NOI) to issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0003121 Apply for DE FOA 0003140 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003140 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES TO ELIMINATE FLARING FROM OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION Apply for DE FOA 0003017 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003017 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $12,500,000 |
| Advancing U.S. Thin-Film Solar Photovoltaics Apply for DE FOA 0003058 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003058 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $20,000,000 |
| Demand-side RFP for Independent Entity Apply for DE FOA 0003187 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003187 Agency: Department of Energy, Headquarters Category: Energy Funding Amount: $1,000,000,000 |
| Community Capacity Building Grant Program (CCBGP) DRAFT Apply for DE FOA 0003131 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003131 Agency: Department of Energy, Environmental Management Consolidated Business Cen Category: Energy Funding Amount: $5,000,000 |
| Notice of Intent to issue Critical Materials Accelerator Funding Opportunity Announcement Apply for DE FOA 0003154 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003154 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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