On April 27, 2021, DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) issued a Federal Agency Call (FAC) titled “Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT 2021),” soliciting $13 million for new energy projects that will help federal facilities to improve the efficiency of their operations and reduce their carbon footprints.  These efforts come with the hope that DOE will contribute to the Biden Administration’s goal of a 100 percent clean-energy economy and net-zero emissions by 2050.  DOE’s FEMP actions will, according to DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Acting Assistant Secretary, Kelly Speakes-Backman, “… both decarbonize and strengthen the critical energy and water infrastructure at … federal facilities, ensuring continuous operations in times of crisis.”
 
AFFECT 2021 will fund efficient, clean-energy projects that address directly climate change mitigation and adaptation through privately financed performance contracts, including:

• Energy savings performance contracts (ESPC);
• ESPC ENABLE – An initiative designed to permit a standardized and streamlined procurement process for small federal energy conservation measures (ECM) projects in six months or less; and
• Utility energy services contracts (UESC).

The goal is for these performance contracts to leverage the $13 million in AFFECT grants into approximately $260 million or more in project investments.
 
Applications are being accepted for the AFFECT 2021 FAC until July 16, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. (EDT).  Registration is required prior to submission through EERE Exchange. Additional information is available here.