The Notice of Intent (NOI) No. DE-FOA-0003443 from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) indicates an upcoming Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) titled “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Provision 41007(b)(2), Wind Turbine Technology Recycling." The potential NOFO, under the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), would be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, focusing on projects that support the recycling of wind turbine components to enhance sustainability and supply chain resilience. A key goal is to develop technologies for cost-effective, environmentally responsible recycling of materials such as fiber-reinforced composites and rare earth element magnets used in wind turbines.
The planned NOFO may include three main topic areas:
1. Enabling Sustainable Wind Turbine Components: Supporting projects to develop recyclable turbine designs and materials, focusing on reducing the costs and risks associated with these innovations to foster their commercial adoption.
2. Enabling Wind Turbine Material Recycling and Reuse Processes: Funding projects aimed at demonstrating and scaling up recycling processes for turbine materials, particularly fiber-reinforced composites and magnets that are currently challenging to recycle.
3. Recycled and Recyclable Material Qualification: Establishing a research collaborative to qualify and certify recycled materials for use in wind energy technologies, with the goal of enhancing industry acceptance of these sustainable materials.
DOE anticipates making several awards through cooperative agreements, with the expected period of performance being two to four years. The DOE will also facilitate a "Teaming Partner List" to encourage collaboration across the supply chain, including manufacturers, plant owners, and recycling specialists. Interested parties should register with EERE eXCHANGE and complete other required registrations in advance, as specified in the NOI, to be ready when the NOFO is formally released.
It is important to note that the final NOFO may differ from the draft outlined in this NOI, or it may not be issued at all【11†source】.
