The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs is launching the $4.1 million American-Made TCU Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize.
Donor Name: Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Awards and Prizes
Deadline: 12/05/2024
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
This prize encourages Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) to create demonstration projects that educate students on energy and food sovereignty within Tribal regions. As part of the American-Made program, this prize accelerates the clean energy revolution by incentivizing innovation through prizes, training, teaming, and mentoring.
Under this prize, TCUs will develop student-led projects, supported by faculty advisors, that are sustainable and impactful. These projects will address the intersection of energy and food sovereignty, providing hands-on learning and clean energy infrastructure on campuses. This experience will engage students in energy education and campus energy planning, aligning with the goals of the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs:
- Greenhouses heated or cooled by geothermal (ground-source) energy
- Greenhouses powered by wind or solar
- Solar arrays that provide shade for crops to grow or livestock to graze.
TCUs are encouraged to incorporate local traditional crops and/or livestock into their designs, as well as relevant clean energy systems to ensure food is sustainably grown for their environments. Students’ valuable exposure and hands-on experience in energy and food sovereignty can then be shared to benefit Tribes.
This prize is intended to build the capacity of TCU students to use clean energy to grow food self-sufficiently with sources on Tribal lands. One student team from each of the 35 TCUs is eligible to apply and will be recognized for their work.
Prize Information
Prize pool of up to $4.1M to Tribal Colleges and Universities for creating projects at the intersection of clean energy and food sovereignty.
The Three Phases:
- Phase 1: Teaming
- Up to 30 winners | $40,000 cash prize to each winning TCU: includes funds for expected travel to the 2025 Indian Energy Program Review in Denver
- Build a team and summarize your project.
- Phase 2A: Planning and Permitting
- Up to 20 winners | $75,000 cash prize to each winning TCU
- Create a detailed project plan.
- Phase 2B: Construction
- Up to 20 winners | $60,000 cash prize to each winning TCU
- Construct your project.
- Phase 3: Presentations and Awards
- First place: $75,000 | Second place: $50,000 | Third place: $35,000 | Up to 4 Honorable Mention prizes: $10,000 each
- Attend and speak at the 2025 Indian Energy Program Review.
Criteria
- The DOE Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs will only consider applications from: (1) Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs); and (2) proposed projects located on the associated TCU campus.
- Applications from a consortium of TCUs will be accepted, but must be submitted by a single TCU acting as the applicant representing the consortium. If the applicant is applying on behalf of a consortium, the proposed project must to be located on a campus within the consortium.
- All applicants will be required to provide eligibility statements and evidence to support DOE’s eligibility determination. DOE will not make eligibility determinations prior to an application being submitted. Applicants who do not meet the requirements of this subsection will be deemed ineligible, and their applications will not be reviewed or considered. Only one submission per TCU will be accepted.
For more information, visit American-Made Challenges.
