The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched the $500 million Renew America’s Schools Program to promote energy infrastructure improvements at K-12 public schools across the country.  Like the 2024 Prize, the 2025 Renew America’s Schools Prize will fund energy-efficient and clean-energy projects with a preference for rural and/or high-poverty Local Educational Agencies (LEAs).  In three phases, the program will build capacity among districts to perform energy audits across school facilities, lower utility costs, redirect funds to support students and teachers, and create healthier learning environments.

To date, the Renew America’s Schools Program, first funded in 2022, has invested $372.5 million in over two dozen Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and at approximately 410 facilities across 36 states - directly benefitting approximately 197,000 students and 14,000 teachers.  The 2025 Renew America’s Schools Prize implements a prize-to-cooperative-agreement funding model to streamline and expedite the application process and provide earlier and more targeted support to winners.

 

Eligible Entities

Entities eligible for participation in the 2025 Renew America’s Schools Prize to Cooperative Agreement must meet eligibility requirements described in Section 40541(a)(3) of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).  Specifically, an eligible entity is a consortium of the following organizations:

• Establish the need for both energy improvements and financing across the proposed portfolio;
• Demonstrate overall team capacity to manage projects across the portfolio;
• Propose a comprehensive plan for executing Phase 2 (energy auditing and design);
• Build capacity at a Local Educational Agency and across the K-12 sector, while leveraging funds to enhance the impact of federal dollars; and
• Establish a strategic approach that advances the following goals:
  • Community and labor engagement,
  • Job quality and workforce continuity,
  • Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), and
  • Justice40 Initiative.

 

Prize

Up to 14 Phase 1 Winners will earn a cash prize of $300,000 for successfully building teams and submitting compelling applications identifying need.

 

Important Dates

Feb. 12, 2025, noon PST, 3 p.m. EST:  Office Hours #1

March 12, 2025, noon PDT, 3 p.m. ET:  Office Hours #2

April 14, 2025, 8 a.m. PDT, 5 p.m. ET:  Phase 1 Judging Begins

To view examples of required forms, please see Template: Technical Narrative, Template: Energy Justice Mapping Tool Reports, Template: School Energy Assessment (SEA) Form, Template: Community Benefits Plan, Template: Submission Summary Slide.

To apply, please register and complete a submission package on the Renew America’s Schools HeroX Prize page before April 3rd, 2025, at 5 p.m. E.T. 

To learn about the HeroX platform, please refer to Instructions on Registering on HeroX as a Team or Individual, or email RenewSchoolsPrize@nrel.gov.

To explore further information, go to 2025 Cooperative Agreement Requirements.