Notice of Intent to Issue Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) No. DE-FOA-0003373: "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Provision 41007(b)(2), Wind Turbine Technology Recycling” | DE FOA 0003443

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003443

This opportunity is a Notice of Intent (NOI) from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) indicating that DOE plans to issue a future Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) focused on wind turbine technology recycling under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), specifically Provision 41007(b)(2). In practical terms, an NOI is an advance heads-up to the public that a competitive funding announcement is expected, giving potential applicants time to begin organizing partnerships, shaping technical approaches, and tracking the forthcoming requirements that will appear in the full NOFO. The subject matter, "Wind Turbine Technology Recycling," signals an emphasis on developing, improving, or scaling methods to recycle or recover materials from wind turbine components and related technologies, which is an increasingly important issue as the U.S. wind fleet ages and more blades, nacelle components, and other materials approach end-of-life.

The grant is listed as a discretionary funding opportunity, meaning it is a competitive program where awards are made based on merit review and alignment with DOE priorities rather than by formula. The anticipated funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally means that if awards are made, DOE expects to have substantial involvement during the project period. That can include technical direction, milestone reviews, collaboration on project plans, and other forms of federal participation beyond what is typical in a standard grant. The funding activity category is energy, and the assistance listing is tied to CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) number 81.087, which is associated with DOE energy efficiency and renewable energy related assistance programs.

Eligibility is shown as "Unrestricted," which typically indicates that DOE does not intend to limit eligibility to a narrow applicant class (such as only universities or only state governments). In many DOE EERE competitions, "unrestricted" can include a wide range of entities such as for-profit companies (including startups and manufacturers), universities, national laboratories (often as partners rather than prime recipients depending on the rules), state and local governments, Tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations. The exact eligibility rules, cost share requirements, and any restrictions on foreign ownership, foreign components, or teaming structures would normally be spelled out in the full NOFO, not the NOI.

The agency office associated with this notice is the DOE Golden Field Office, which commonly supports project management for EERE-led awards, including those related to renewable energy and advanced manufacturing topics. The listing points interested parties to the EERE Exchange website (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov), which is DOE EERE's official platform where NOIs and NOFOs are posted and where applicants typically must register to submit concept papers and full applications. Because this is an NOI rather than the final solicitation, the most important next step for an interested applicant is to locate the actual NOI on EERE Exchange and monitor the posting for the eventual NOFO, any amendments, and any related documents such as a webinar schedule, frequently asked questions, or required templates.

Several fields in the source data appear to be placeholders or not yet finalized, which is common at the NOI stage. For example, the "AwardCeiling" and "ExpectedAwards" are listed as 0, which does not mean no funding will be issued; it more often means those values were not populated in the summary record at the time of posting or are to be determined in the final NOFO. There is also an inconsistency between the title referencing NOFO number DE-FOA-0003373 and the "FundingOpportunityNumber" field showing DE-FOA-0003443. That kind of mismatch can happen when internal records are created or updated across systems. The authoritative details will be whatever is published on EERE Exchange under the official DOE posting, including the final NOFO number, the total funding amount, the number of anticipated awards, award size ranges, mandatory cost share (if any), topic areas, and submission deadlines.

The original closing date shown is 2024-10-04, and the creation date is 2024-10-03, suggesting the record may have been generated or ingested into a database around that time rather than representing a full application window. With NOIs, a "closing date" can sometimes reflect the date the notice was posted, the date comments are due (if DOE is soliciting feedback), or simply a system-required field rather than a true application deadline. Applicants should rely on the EERE Exchange posting for the real timeline, especially once the full NOFO is issued, because DOE funding opportunities often have multiple stages (for example, an optional or required concept paper followed by an invitation to submit a full application).

In terms of what the program topic implies, "wind turbine technology recycling" generally points to efforts that reduce waste, lower lifecycle environmental impacts, and strengthen domestic supply chains by recovering valuable materials from end-of-life wind assets. Recycling challenges in wind can include composite blade materials, resins, fiberglass or carbon fiber components, and the logistics and economics of collection, transportation, processing, and reintegration into new products. Depending on how DOE scopes the final NOFO, projects might range from early-stage R&D on new recycling processes, to pilot-scale demonstrations, to systems-level approaches that address the full recycling value chain. The final NOFO will define the specific topic areas, the technical merit criteria, and what DOE considers a successful outcome (for example, improved recovery rates, reduced cost per ton processed, reduced emissions, or development of commercially viable pathways for difficult-to-recycle components).

To get the most accurate and complete picture, the key action is to pull the NOI directly from EERE Exchange using the provided link, then review any attachments and updates. That will clarify the program goals, anticipated requirements, evaluation criteria, and what DOE is likely to fund under BIL Provision 41007(b)(2) when the full NOFO is released.

• The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent to Issue Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) No. DE-FOA-0003373: "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Provision 41007(b)(2), Wind Turbine Technology Recycling”" 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 2024-10-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-10-04. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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