Generation 3 Concentrating Solar Power Systems | DE FOA 0001697

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001697

The Generation 3 Concentrating Solar Power Systems funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0001697) is a U.S. Department of Energy program run through EERE's Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and administered by the DOE Golden Field Office. It is a discretionary research and development grant opportunity using a cooperative agreement structure, meaning DOE expects to be actively involved during the project period rather than simply issuing funds and stepping back. The overall purpose is to push concentrating solar power (CSP) toward much lower electricity costs by supporting applied R&D that can realistically move from laboratory component development to integrated, larger-scale demonstrations.

At the center of the FOA is a specific cost target: enabling CSP to reach a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of 6 cents per kilowatt-hour electric or less, without relying on subsidies. In practical terms, DOE is looking for technology pathways that can materially reduce the total cost of building and operating CSP plants while also improving how efficiently they turn collected solar heat into grid-ready electricity. The agency frames this as a "Generation 3" push, implying a next-step evolution beyond current commercial CSP designs that are constrained by temperature limits and system-level efficiency.

The technical focus is on integrated thermal system solutions that can operate at higher temperatures than today's typical CSP plants. Higher temperature capability matters because it opens the door to more efficient power cycles and advanced turbine technologies, which can extract more electricity from the same amount of solar heat. DOE is explicitly trying to address two related barriers at once: overcoming temperature limitations that cap efficiency, and reducing capital costs by enabling better-performing turbines and achieving higher overall conversion efficiency from solar thermal energy to electricity.

A key expectation is that applicants will not just propose isolated component work. Instead, projects are expected to take high-temperature components that have already been proven at laboratory scale and mature them by testing them together as an integrated system. The scale described is multi-megawatt thermal (multi-MWth), large enough to meaningfully validate system behavior under conditions that resemble real plant operation. DOE emphasizes an end-to-end thermal pathway: the system should be able to accept solar thermal energy, store it, and then deliver it efficiently to a working fluid at high temperature. That working fluid delivery is meant to be representative of what a high-efficiency power cycle would require, so the integration and operating conditions should reflect credible next-generation plant designs rather than small bench tests.

From an eligibility standpoint, the opportunity is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to applicants of many types (for example, companies, universities, national-lab partners, nonprofits, and other organizations), subject to any additional eligibility clarifications contained in the full FOA text. The program sits under CFDA number 81.087 and is categorized under energy, science and technology, and other R&D activities, consistent with its applied research, engineering development, and pilot-scale validation intent.

Financially, the FOA indicates an award ceiling of up to $35,000,000 and anticipates making about 12 awards. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial reporting and coordination requirements, milestones, and ongoing technical engagement with DOE. The FOA was created on September 11, 2017, with an original application closing date of January 19, 2018, indicating this was a time-bound competitive solicitation for projects aligned with DOE's Generation 3 CSP cost-reduction strategy.

In plain terms, this funding opportunity was designed to accelerate next-generation CSP by backing teams that can move beyond component prototypes and prove integrated, high-temperature thermal systems at meaningful scale, including thermal energy storage and high-temperature heat delivery to a power cycle. The intended payoff is a CSP plant architecture that is both cheaper to build and more efficient to run, making unsubsidized, utility-scale solar thermal electricity competitive at or below the stated 6 cents/kWh-electric target.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Generation 3 Concentrating Solar Power Systems" 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 Sep 11, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 19, 2018. (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 $35,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 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 0001697

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