Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003574
This opportunity is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) under Funding Opportunity Number DE FOA 0003574, titled "Accelerating Speed to Power/Winning the Artificial Intelligence Race: Federal Action to Rapidly Expand Grid Capacity and Enable Electricity Demand Growth." Although it appears in the grants system and is labeled with a grant funding instrument type and an energy activity category (CFDA 81.254), the substance of the notice is not a traditional funding solicitation for projects. Instead, it is a market and stakeholder input exercise intended to shape future federal actions and potential programs related to rapidly increasing electric grid capacity in response to sharply rising electricity demand.
The central issue the RFI is focused on is the mismatch between projected near-term load growth and the current capabilities of the U.S. electric grid. The government is explicitly pointing to gigawatt-scale needs being driven by large new and expanding electricity users such as data centers (including AI and high-performance computing workloads), advanced manufacturing facilities, semiconductor fabrication plants, and other major industrial loads. The premise is that these loads are arriving faster than generation and transmission can be built or interconnected under existing processes, creating a bottleneck that could constrain economic growth, industrial competitiveness, and national strategic objectives tied to AI leadership.
NETL is seeking feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, including industry, universities, research laboratories, other government agencies, impacted communities, and additional interested parties. The intent is to gather practical, on-the-ground perspectives about what is preventing timely deployment of new power supply and the grid infrastructure needed to serve it, and what federal actions could most effectively reduce timelines and expand capacity. In practice, this typically includes gathering viewpoints on barriers such as interconnection queues, transmission planning and cost allocation, siting and permitting challenges, supply chain constraints for major grid components, workforce limitations, financing structures, and coordination problems across federal, state, local, and regional entities. The RFI framing also suggests an interest in solutions that can operate at very large scale (gigawatts), meaning it is looking beyond incremental upgrades and toward strategies that can materially change the pace of buildout.
Key administrative details are straightforward. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary, with eligible applicants listed as unrestricted, which aligns with the broad call for input rather than a competitive eligibility screen. The original closing date is November 21, 2025, and it was created on October 21, 2025. The listing includes an award ceiling of 2 and leaves the expected number of awards blank, both of which are common artifacts in listings where the main action is information collection rather than awarding funds, and where no project award structure has been defined.
Overall, the RFI is best understood as an early-stage federal planning step aimed at accelerating "speed to power" by identifying concrete policy, regulatory, programmatic, and investment levers that could rapidly expand generation and transmission capacity. For stakeholders, the practical value is the chance to influence how the federal government prioritizes grid modernization, transmission expansion, and large-load integration strategies in a period of unusually fast demand growth driven by AI and other power-intensive industries.Apply for DE FOA 0003574
- The National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Request for Information (RFI): Accelerating Speed to Power/Winning the Artificial Intelligence Race: Federal Action to Rapidly Expand Grid Capacity and Enable Electricity Demand Growth" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.254.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2025-10-21.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-11-21. (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 $2.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.
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| Funding Opportunity |
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| Improving Efficiency, Reliability, and Flexibility of Coal-Based Power Plants Apply for DE FOA 0003606 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003606 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $48,000,000 |
| Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA): Mine of the Future - Proving Ground Initiative Apply for DE FOA 0003390 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003390 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $40,000,000 |
| Fiscal Year 2026 Phase II Continuation Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research Apply for DE FOA 0003539 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003539 Agency: Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $1,200,000 |
| Fiscal Year 2026 Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research Apply for DE FOA 0003538 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003538 Agency: Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $3,100,000 |
| Fiscal Year 2026 Scientific Infrastructure Support for Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research Apply for DE FOA 0003541 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003541 Agency: Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $1,500,000 |
| Fiscal Year 2026 Distinguished Early Career Program Apply for DE FOA 0003540 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003540 Agency: Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $800,000 |
| Fiscal Year 2026 University Reactor Sharing and Outreach Apply for DE FOA 0003542 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003542 Agency: Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Tribal Colleges and Universities Planning for Clean Energy Transition - 2025 Apply for DE FOA 0003402 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003402 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Tribal Clean Energy Planning and Development – 2025 Apply for DE FOA 0003400 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003400 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades (SPARK) Apply for DE FOA 0003580 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003580 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $250,000,000 |
| Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Section 40207 Battery Materials Processing & Battery Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Programs Apply for DE FOA 0003585 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003585 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $100,000,000 |
| FY 2026 Energizing Insular Communities Program Apply for OIA EIC 2026 Funding Number: OIA EIC 2026 Agency: Department of the Interior Category: Energy Funding Amount: $15,000,000 |
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