The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2023 includes several grant programs that provide funding for energy projects, including:

• Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)
  This program offers grants and guaranteed loans to rural small businesses and agricultural producers to improve energy efficiency or invest in renewable energy systems. The IRA increased the maximum grant size for energy efficiency projects from $250,000 to $500,000 and for renewable energy systems from $500,000 to $1 million. The federal share was also increased to 50% for certain projects.
• Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) Program
  This program from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) provides grants of $500,000–$5 million to help deploy clean energy solutions in rural and remote areas. The program aims to fund projects that meet certain resilient clean energy objectives and doesn't require cost-sharing from recipients.
• Powering Affordable Clean Energy Program (PACE)
  This program provides funding for new clean energy projects and energy storage in rural America. In fiscal year 2023, the program received over $7.6 billion in applications, which is more than 660% more than the available funding.
• Empowering Rural America Program (New ERA)
  This program has $9.7 billion available, but the application window has recently closed. More information will be released as the program processes proposals.

1. Register your organization in SAM.gov

1. Click “Get Started” on the SAM.gov home page to register your organization.
2. Follow the instructions on the website to complete your registration.
3. SAM.gov will direct you to create an account on login.gov to complete registration.
4. You will need to obtain a UEI, a 12-character alphanumeric ID assigned an entity by SAM.gov, and fill in other information about your organization.
5. Please review the Entity Registration Checklist for details on this process.
6. Please note that SAM.gov registration is different than obtaining a UEI only. Obtaining a UEI only validates your organization's legal business name and address. Please review the Frequently Asked Question on the difference for additional details.

2. Register your organization in Grants.gov

1. Once your SAM.gov account is active, you must register in Grants.gov. Please review the Grants.gov Applicant Registration instructions.
2. Grants.gov will require you to fill in your organization information, such as e-Business (EBiz) point of contact email address and UEI.
3. The EBiz point of contact is the only person that can affiliate and assign applicant roles to members of an organization.
4. In addition, at least one person must be assigned as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Only person(s) with the AOR role can submit applications in Grants.gov.
5. Please review the Intro to Grants.gov-Understanding User Roles and Learning Workspace - User Roles and Workspace Actions for details on this important process.
6. If necessary, contact Grants.gov for assistance at 1-800-518-4726 or [email protected] to resolve technical issues with Grants.gov.
7. Applicants who are outside the U.S. at the time of submittal and are not able to access the toll-free number may reach a Grants.gov representative by calling 606-545-5035.
8. The Grants.gov Support Center is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week, excluding federal holidays.