Restoring Reliability: Coal Recommissioning and Modernization | DE FOA 0003605

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003605

The Department of Energy (DOE) funding opportunity announcement DE-FOA-0003605, titled "Restoring Reliability: Coal Recommissioning and Modernization," is a discretionary energy grant program aimed at addressing what DOE describes as an urgent grid capacity and reliability crisis. The opportunity is framed around findings from DOE's 2025 Grid Reliability Assessment (DOE/GR-2025-001), which concluded that coal plant retirements are happening faster than replacement additions of resources considered reliable, affordable, and secure. DOE emphasizes that the problem is most severe in areas where transmission is constrained and electricity demand is steadily growing, creating a near-term risk that available firm capacity will not keep up with load.

A central theme of the announcement is that the current operating environment is putting unusual stress on existing thermal generators. As intermittent renewable generation expands, coal and other thermal units are being required to ramp and cycle more frequently than they were designed to do. DOE argues that this cycling accelerates wear, increases forced outage rates, and raises the likelihood of localized reliability events and even broader blackouts during tight conditions. The program is also justified by rising electricity demand tied to national security and industrial priorities, including defense installations, semiconductor manufacturing, AI data centers, critical mineral processing, and broader industrial reshoring. These loads are highlighted as requiring continuous, high-confidence power supply, which DOE positions as difficult to ensure in the near term without additional firm generation.

Within that context, the FOA focuses on coal-fired generation assets as a near-term reliability lever because they already have significant infrastructure in place. The opportunity is designed to support projects that recommission, retrofit, modernize, or strategically repurpose coal assets to restore or enhance dependable capacity. The underlying premise is that bringing existing coal units back online, extending their life, improving their operational flexibility, and upgrading key systems can be faster and more cost-effective than building entirely new large-scale firm generation, particularly in regions where permitting, supply chains, and transmission expansion could delay alternatives.

The announcement connects directly to federal emergency posture as well. It references Executive Order 14156 (January 2025), which declared a national energy emergency and directed DOE and other agencies to use their statutory authorities to ensure reliable, affordable, and secure generation resources. That executive direction is used to reinforce the urgency of the program and DOE's intent to move resources toward actions that can reduce reliability risk in the near term, especially where reserve margins are shrinking or where load growth is outpacing infrastructure development.

From an administrative standpoint, the program is administered by DOE's Golden Field Office and is listed under CFDA 81.255. The funding instrument type is identified as "Other" under a discretionary funding opportunity in the energy activity category. The FOA anticipates making roughly 10 awards, with an award ceiling of $70,000,000 per award. The original application closing date is November 13, 2025, and the opportunity record shows a creation date of October 3, 2025. Eligible applicants are broad and include state, county, and city or township governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; 501(c)(3) nonprofits (other than IHEs); and for-profit organizations other than small businesses.

In practical terms, this opportunity is best understood as DOE funding intended to quickly shore up grid reliability by leveraging existing coal plant sites and equipment where doing so can add dependable capacity, reduce outage risk, and support critical new industrial and defense-related electricity demand. The emphasis is not simply on keeping plants operating as-is, but on targeted recommissioning and modernization efforts intended to improve performance under today's more volatile operating conditions, with the broader goal of stabilizing the grid while the nation navigates rapid load growth and changing generation mixes.

• The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Restoring Reliability: Coal Recommissioning and Modernization" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.255.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-10-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-11-13. (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 $70,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses.

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