OpportunityTitle: Industrial Assessment Centers
Description: The Federal Government has been funding the Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) program, formerly called the Energy Analysis and Diagnostic Center program, since 1976. The goal of the IAC program is twofold: first, to provide energy efficiency, productivity, sustainability and competitiveness recommendations to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), currently defined as having gross annual sales below $100 million, fewer than 500 employees, and annual energy bills between $100,000 and $2.5 million; and second, to help address a growing shortage of engineering professionals with applied energy and manufacturing-related skills. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) currently funds, through Cooperative Agreements, 24 IACs located throughout the country who are completing their 5 year projects. The IACs are coordinated by DOE staff and a DOE selected Field Manager. Only the following entities are eligible to apply under this FOA: a U.S. college or university that is an integral part of its institutional structure and that has at least one of its four year undergraduate programs accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission or the Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) or equivalent (The IAC must be in the engineering department that holds the programmatic ABET or equivalent accreditation). The U.S. college or school of engineering must be physically located in the U.S. Led by engineering faculty and staff, the selected IACs will perform assessments for SMEs, mostly in their geographic region, which will result in energy and water savings, waste reduction, opportunities for smart manufacturing, potential enhancements to cyber security and related information technologies, and sustainability and productivity improvements for the manufacturers. To date, the IAC program has provided over 17,000 assessments and over 130,000 recommendations for energy saving measures. On average, an IAC assessment leads to 5-7% implemented annual energy savings and productivity improvements. The IAC students will gain real world technical experience gained from these assessments as well as relevant skills in interacting with plant and corporate management; preparing executive-level briefings and plant-specific reports; and facilitating continuous improvement in energy management. In addition to providing assessments to SMEs, selected IACs may also provide a limited number of special assessments to other types of entities such as waste water processing facilities, institutional facilities and other types of facilities where DOE determines that the special assessments are consistent with the overall IAC programmatic objectives. The full Funding Opportunity Announcement is posted on the EERE Exchange website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. Applications must be submitted through the EERE Exchange website to be considered for award. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE Exchange website. The Users&apos; guide for applying to Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy&#8217;s Funding Opportunity Announcements through the Exchange website can be found at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx. Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of the announcement and where to submit questions regarding submission of applications is found in the full FOA posted on the EERE Exchange website. The Exchange system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants. Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov).
GrantorContactEmailDescription: AMO IAC Mailbox
GrantorContactText: AMO IAC Mailbox &lt;br/&gt;IACs@ee.doe.gov&lt;br/&gt;
CloseDateExplanation: A recommended Letter of Intent is due 4/28/2016 5:00pm ET