Technical Assistance Available for Small- and Medium-Sized Manufacturers
Program Will Support Clean Energy Supply Chains and Create Economic Opportunities That Revitalize Former Coal Communities
In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE's) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is facilitating the Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program Readiness Technical Assistance Program. The program is designed to support small- and medium-sized manufacturers in communities that have experienced coal mine or coal-fired power plant closures.
The program is part of the Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to strengthen domestic clean energy manufacturing and recycling while using facilities, infrastructure, and skilled workers in former coal communities.
“This technical assistance program is a great opportunity for small- or medium-sized manufacturers,” said Elise DeGeorge, principal investigator for the NREL-facilitated program. “NREL will work to identify each manufacturer’s unique needs so we can develop specialized technical assistance designed to help prepare them to apply for future funding through the grant program.”
Types of Technical Assistance Available
Up to 15 awards will be made through the technical assistance program. Awardees will be able to use NREL technical assistance for the following and more:
- Feasibility analyses and other planning activities
- Regulatory, procurement, and financing support
- Stakeholder identification and engagement
- Workforce development planning and facilitation.
Applicants Must Meet Program Criteria
To apply for and receive technical assistance, applicants must meet firm geographic and eligibility criteria under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40209. These requirements are that:
- Each applicant must be a small- or medium-sized manufacturer, defined as having:
- Less than $100 million in gross annual sales
- Fewer than 500 employees at the plant site
- Annual energy bills totaling more than $100,000 but less than $2.5 million.
- Projects must meet the objectives of Topic Area 1 or Topic Area 2 of the Advanced
Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program funding opportunity announcement, defined as:
- Topic Area 1: Build a new manufacturing or recycling facility for the production or recycling of advanced energy property (that is, goods used in clean energy technologies and their supply chains)
- Topic Area 2: Re-equip or expand a manufacturing or recycling facility for the production or recycling of advanced energy property.
- Projects must be located in a census tract (review DOE's mapping tool), in which:
- A coal mine closed after Dec. 31, 1999
- A coal-fired electricity generating power plant unit closed after Dec. 31, 2009
- A census tract is immediately adjacent to either of the previous two sub-bullets.
Additionally, the principal business of the applicant must fall within the North American Industry Classification System codes 31–33.
Interested applicants are encouraged to learn more about this technical assistance program, the Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program, and NREL’s advanced manufacturing research.