GSP Grants Watch

Funding Source: Department of Energy
Funding Type: Discretionary, Cooperative Agreement
Total Available: $7.5 Million
Award Ceiling: N/A
Deadline: 09.01.09
Eligibility: Unrestricted

Description:
The Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), on behalf of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE’s) Building Technologies Program (BTP), is seeking applications for projects that focus on developing training programs for various building specialists. The programs shall use existing curricula or develop new training curricula for their course content. To achieve the full potential of energy efficient (and eventual net zero-energy) buildings, our Nation needs commercial building equipment technicians, operators, and energy commissioning agents/auditors who know how to properly run and tune building systems. The combination of efficient operations and advanced design will improve the internal built environment: its energy use, comfort, safety, and environmental impact. Given the subject matter expertise of the Building Technologies staff as well as an extensive stakeholder network, the Department of Energy is uniquely positioned to execute this initiative and add value. The Building Technologies Program intends to award a number of cooperative agreements through this FOA to develop training programs for implementation upon completion of awarded project(s). Curricula, certification requirements, and accreditation standards for training on energy efficient practices and technologies advancing industry expertise towards DOE’s net-zero energy commercial building goals are sought. Training programs are needed for three types of commercial building specialists: equipment technicians, operators, and energy commissioning agents/auditors. The objective is to enable the development of a workforce that can bring existing commercial buildings up to their energy performance potential and to help ensure that new commercial buildings do not fall below their expected optimal level of performance.