Interior Requests Proposals from U.S. Territories for Energizing Insular Communities Program Funding

WASHINGTON –U.S. Interior Assistant Secretary - Insular and International Affairs Doug Domenech is requesting proposals for its Energizing Insular Communities Program for FY2018 funding. Those eligible to apply are local government entities, independent authorities, and educational institutions located in the U.S. territories of Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The deadline is May 31^st.

“This program supports the Secretary and the President’s priority to utilize our natural resources by ensuring American energy is available to meet security and economic needs,” said Assistant Secretary Domenech. Island communities have a perennial struggle of high costs for fuel. Lowering energy costs to consumers is a key goal of these grants.

The Office of Insular Affairs will use the following criteria in evaluating proposals:

• Estimated size of reduction in a territory’s dependence on off-island fuels;
• Estimated size of reduction in cost of electricity in the territory; and
• Degree to which the proposal is identified and supported in the territory’s Strategic Energy Plan and/or Energy Action Plan.

In addition, multiple project proposals may be submitted, ranging from a minimum of $150,000 per project to the full $2,811,000 expected to be available. Satisfactory Energizing Insular Communities funding proposals will:

• provide a title, detailed narrative description, and budget for each proposed project;
• provide a complete timeline that demonstrates the project can be accomplished within 24 months;
• discuss the applicability of the above three factors to each proposed project; and
• include the applicable SF-424 grant application forms.

Applications should be submitted through the Grants.Gov website. The grant may be found under Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance or CFDA number 15.875. For more information and instructions for applying for financial assistance from the OIA, refer to the OIA website.

The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for coordinating federal policy with respect to the territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and administering and overseeing U.S. Compact federal grants provided to the freely associated states of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. On behalf of the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs executes these responsibilities through the Office of Insular Affairs.

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