NREL Extends Deadline for DOE Competitiveness Improvement Project Proposals to May 5
Extension Includes New Round of Questions, Open Through April 12
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has extended the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) distributed wind request for proposals submission deadline.
The new proposal deadline is May 5 at 2 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time.
As part of this extension, NREL has also opened a new round of questions on SAM.gov, where answers to previous questions received about the RFP are posted. New questions may be posted by potential applicants through April 12.
“CIP helps small U.S. businesses develop new and innovative distributed wind technology through financial support, the expertise of NREL researchers, and access to the laboratory’s test facilities,” said Ian Baring-Gould, NREL’s distributed wind energy program lead. “It’s a terrific program that has become quite competitive, and given these difficult times, especially for small businesses, we wanted to provide a bit more time to prepare high-quality proposals.”
Baring-Gould said that many of the questions NREL has received about the current CIP request for proposals relate to application specifics. He suggested applicants read the answers to these questions before submitting their proposals.
“I am very pleased by the interest expressed by small businesses in this new CIP funding cycle, as evidenced by the number and quality of questions we’ve received,” Baring-Gould said.
NREL has managed the CIP since its inception in 2012 to support manufacturers of distributed wind turbines—typically small businesses—through competitively awarded, cost-shared funding. Based on extensive input from wind industry experts, the topics included in the 2020 CIP solicitation are:
- Pre-prototype development
- Prototype validation
- Component innovations
- System optimization
- Certification assessment
- Type certification
- Manufacturing process innovation.
“To receive 2020 CIP funding, small businesses should identify where they are in the product development cycle and how they fit into the seven topics listed while documenting their expected near-term market impact,” Baring-Gould said.
Baring-Gould also recommends applicants read the presentations from a 2019 CIP workshop for examples of past projects and tips for preparing successful proposals.
Proposals will be evaluated based on technical merit and the ability to reduce the levelized cost of distributed wind energy.
