The huge bolus of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding is beginning to hit grants.gov—which means the grant money will soon hit the street as companies apply soon. That’s the dynamic we’re seeing with the $700 million available for the Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) “Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant” program,* which has no award ceiling in grants.gov (although the NOFO itself says $15 million is the maximum; this reinforces the valuable “always read the NOFO” lesson) and no guidance as to the number of grants that might be available. Grant writers should be cognizant of the “Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant” program, and the other large BIL funding opportunities that are likely to follow, because they have so much money available. This FY ’23 NOFO has a deadline of May 30, but the program may be renewed in future years.
We can help: contact Seliger + Associates today to find out how we can make your “Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant” program, if not easy, then at the very least easier than it would be otherwise. We’ve not yet looked in depth at this particular Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), but, from what we have seen (starting with the amount of money available), it looks unusual. A variety of infrastructure can be installed—among them, classic electric chargers, but also hydrogen infrastructure, or propane infrastructure, or even “natural” gas (sometimes called by its more honest, but less marketable, name: “methane”). I’d guess that most funded projects will focus on electric charging infrastructure, but there could be some dark-horse candidates for hydrogen (like mining equipment).
I’d also guess that successful applicants will get the city, county, and state bureaucracies on their side, so as to avoid interminal environmental and other reviews. I haven’t found specific language in the “Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant” NOFO pertaining to that yet, but, even if that language isn’t in there, reviewers will probably want to know that the infrastructure is going to be built. In much of the United States, we’ve defaulted to status-quo bias in the physical world. Smart applicants will likely have these challenges settled before they apply.
Over the years, we’ve written numerous scientific and technical proposals, and we often complement engineering firms and other organizations devoted to planning and executing the physical construction of charging infrastructure. We’re specialists in making sure that grant proposals are compelling, narratively cohesive, and tell an important story. We’re experts at making sure the most important thing is at the front, and then proposals proceed to the details; many amateur grant writers mistakenly start with details and then wait until the end to attempt a coherent, broad picture. Readers are often confused by that, and want the opposite—the broad picture first, followed by details.
The Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) “Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant” program is unusual in that it’s a “Cost Reimbursement Grant”—so some funding that your state, planning organization, local government, Indian Tribe, or consortium has already spent can still be eligible under this grant program.
Let us make sure your “Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant” program narrative makes sense. You do what you’re great at, and let us grant writers write the proposal. Contact us today to make your proposal process (relatively) easy.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is the DOT sub-agency charged with administering the competition.