About this archived opportunity

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) to invest in innovative social science research that generates actionable insights to improve large-scale solar (LSS) siting processes and outcomes for host communities—particularly those that are disadvantaged—and the solar industry.This topic will fund research programs that study the social dimensions of large-scale solar siting. This includes the dynamics of community acceptance of proposed projects, the role of public attitudes and other factors in the permitting process, and impacts of large-scale solar projects on communities. The goal of the award is to identify community engagement strategies, process changes, and other interventions that improve siting processes so that they are procedurally fair, create equitable benefits for communities, and balance the national need to site large-scale solar generation.Outcomes of interest include:Community acceptance or oppositionPermitting and land use decisions, predictability, and timelinessCommunity impacts (including meaningful benefits, burdens, and equity and procedural and distributional justice)DOE is compiling a Teaming Partner List to facilitate the formation of project teams for this FOA. The Teaming Partner List allows organizations that may wish to participate on a project to express their interest to other applicants and explore potential partnerships. Please see the Teaming List section of the FOA document for more information.EERE eXCHANGE is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should applicants experience problems with EERE eXCHANGE, the following information may be helpful.Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FOA deadline: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (EERE-eXCHANGESupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE system administrators will assist applicants in resolving issues.

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