Deep Direct-Use Feasibility Studies | DE FOA 0001601

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001601

The Department of Energy (DOE), through its Golden Field Office, released a discretionary funding opportunity titled "Deep Direct-Use Feasibility Studies" (Funding Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-0001601; CFDA: 81.087) to support early-stage project work that can broaden where and how geothermal energy is used in the United States. The core purpose of the announcement is to fund feasibility studies for large-scale, low-temperature geothermal systems that rely on deep wells and are paired with advanced direct-use applications and cascaded surface technologies. In this context, "direct-use" generally means using geothermal heat directly for end uses like space and district heating, industrial process heat, greenhouses, aquaculture, or other thermal loads, rather than generating electricity first. The DOE describes these integrated concepts as deep direct-use, or DDU, and emphasizes that the intent is to expand geothermal adoption into geologically distinct regions of the country beyond the western U.S., where conventional geothermal development has historically been more common.

The opportunity is structured around two topic areas. Topic Area 1, "DDU Feasibility Studies," is aimed at the foundational work needed to decide whether a DDU project is viable at a given location. That includes initial site selection, assessment of the geothermal resource, and a feasibility study of the proposed DDU technology or technologies. In practical terms, this topic area is about building a defensible technical and economic case: identifying a promising site, characterizing subsurface temperature and flow potential to the extent feasible, evaluating how the deep-well resource can be coupled to direct-use thermal customers, and assessing the overall feasibility and risks before larger investments are made.

Topic Area 2, "DDU Community of Practice Administration and Techno-Economic Validation of DDU Projects," is oriented toward organizing the field and improving shared learning across projects. The DOE seeks to convene and establish a DDU Community of Practice (COP), which typically implies a structured network for collaboration among developers, researchers, communities, end users, and other stakeholders. This topic also includes techno-economic validation efforts for DDU projects, meaning a focus on improving and validating the methods, assumptions, and analytical frameworks used to evaluate costs, performance, and market fit. The intent is to create consistent, credible ways to compare project concepts and to accelerate progress by sharing best practices and lessons learned.

Awards under this FOA were to be made as cooperative agreements, which generally means the DOE expects substantial involvement during the project period rather than acting purely as a pass-through funder. The funding parameters listed include an award ceiling of $900,000 per award and an expectation of up to 16 awards. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning applications were open to any type of entity, subject to any additional conditions described in the full announcement text on the EERE Exchange site.

Key dates for applicants were a concept paper deadline of December 15, 2016, followed by a full application deadline of February 22, 2017. The announcement was created on November 15, 2016, and the original closing date matched the application deadline of February 22, 2017. For full requirements, submission instructions, and detailed evaluation criteria, applicants were directed to access the complete Funding Opportunity Announcement through the EERE Exchange website (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov).

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Deep Direct-Use Feasibility Studies" 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 Nov 15, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 22, 2017. (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 $900,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 16 candidate(s).
• 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 0001601

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