WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs has announced that proposals are now being accepted for the Energizing Insular Communities (EIC) program funding for fiscal year (FY) 2021. The total funding available to the territories is $8.5 million. Those eligible to apply are local government entities, independent authorities, and educational institutions located in the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2021.

 “The EIC program will be used to support the Biden-Harris Administration’s priorities for clean energy to power the future in the U.S. territories as part of larger efforts towards energy security for America,” said OIA Director and Acting Assistant Secretary Nikolao Pula. “We look forward to working with the Governors in advancing their energy priorities in the territories.”  

Each proposal will be reviewed and evaluated for two important criteria:

1) whether the proposal is directly tied to the territory’s respective strategic energy plan, energy action plan, or integrated resource plan; and

2) whether there is a projected energy cost savings to end-users.

The Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) recently entered into an interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) thereby making technical assistance and expertise from DOE available to the territories. Applicants should indicate interest for such assistance in their application.

All applications should be submitted through the federal website for grants at Grants.Gov - where the EIC grant is listed under the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 15.875.

For detailed instructions, visit https://www.doi.gov/oia/financial-assistance.

For more information about the Office of Insular Affairs visit http://www.doi.gov/oia.