Inventors may seek U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding for energy efficiency or renewable energy technologies through three routes: the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer program (SBTR), the Advance Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), or through an unsolicited proposal.

The SBIR/SBTR programs are operated by federal agencies that have substantial R&D budgets, through a set-aside mechanism tailored for competitions among small businesses only. For more information, see the Small Business Innovation Research Web site at Small Business Innovation Research.

ARPA-E was established within DOE under the 2007 America Competes Act. ARPA-E's mission is to fund projects that will develop transformational technologies that reduce America's dependence on foreign energy imports; reduce U.S. energy-related emissions (including greenhouse gasses); improve energy efficiency across all sectors of the U.S. economy and ensure that the United States maintains its leadership in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies. For more information see the ARPA-E Web site at Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E).

Inventors may also seek funding by submitting an unsolicited proposal to EERE. For more information, see the unsolicited proposals page on this Web site.

Financial opportunities for both wind energy and water power projects are available through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The resources listed here include opportunities from DOE and the Office of EERE, specific opportunities for small businesses, and additional opportunities from DOE, DOE's national laboratories, and other agencies.

About Wind and Water Financial Opportunities

The Wind and Water Power Program focuses on technological development to improve the reliability and affordability of wind energy, as well as addressing barriers to wind energy deployment; the program also focuses on research, development, and deployment of innovative technologies capable of generating electricity from water. The program strongly prefers to award funding for research and development activities through competitive solicitations.

The program does not fund the purchase or installation of wind or water energy systems by individuals or companies. For information on federal grants and tax incentives for the purchase and operation of wind and water energy systems, please see "Grants and Tax Incentives" below.

Wind and Water Power Solicitations

Proposals for wind or water energy research, development, and demonstration projects should be submitted to the Wind and Water Power Program in response to a competitive solicitations. The following are solicitations posted by the program.

The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) continually strives to increase subcontracting opportunities by encouraging prime contractors to assist small disadvantaged businesses through participation in the Department's Mentor Protégé Program.  The Department of Energy's (DOE) Mentor-Protégé Program supports the following to successfully compete for Department of Energy, federal government, and private sector contracts and subcontracts opportunities for assisting eligible: