How the federal microgrid funding program works
The Department of Energy runs a microgrid funding program called the Community Microgrid Assistance Partnership. A microgrid is a small, independent power system that keeps running on its own even if the wider grid fails, useful in rural towns where the nearest power plant can sit hundreds of miles away and one downed line can mean days without electricity. In June 2025 the Office of Electricity, the arm of the Department of Energy that runs the program, awarded the first round of this federal grant, choosing 14 projects that reach 35 towns and villages across 20 partner organizations, including Alaska Native corporations, a labor union, and rural electric cooperatives.
Projects, towns and villages, and partner organizations are 3 different counts describing the same 14 selected projects, not parts of one total.
Show the numbers
| Projects funded | 14 |
| Towns and villages | 35 |
| Partner organizations | 20 |
The first round split more than 8 million dollars, 5.5 million dollars paid directly to the 14 projects and more than 2.6 million dollars spent on outside engineering help delivered through Department of Energy national laboratories.
Gil Bindewald, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Electricity, said the money pays for real engineering work, not just planning.
Funding for the C-MAP projects cover costs associated with designing, engineering, and sustaining microgrid systems that bring the reality of America's energy abundance to rural homes, businesses, and industries.
Gil Bindewald, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Electricity. Source 1.
Which states got the first round of microgrid funding grants
Of the 14 projects, 12 are in Alaska. The other 2 are the Oceti Sakowin Power Authority in South Dakota, representing 5 Sioux tribes, the Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, Oglala, Rosebud and Yankton, and a project in Washoe County, Nevada, covering the town of Gerlach.
The South Dakota project represents 5 Sioux tribes together, the Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, Oglala, Rosebud and Yankton. The Nevada project covers the town of Gerlach.
Show the numbers
| Alaska | 12 |
| South Dakota | 1 |
| Nevada | 1 |
A second, smaller microgrid grant round follows in 2026
A year later, in May 2026, the Office of Electricity opened a second, smaller round, offering up to 3.5 million dollars total, 2.5 million dollars in direct project support plus about 1 million dollars in technical assistance. Individual project awards under this round range from 200,000 to 575,000 dollars, plus up to 24 months of technical support, aimed at communities with no more than 10,000 people and high electricity prices, and at federally recognized tribes. That application window closed in early July 2026, so there is no open application today, and the Office of Electricity says it will announce who won in Fall 2026.
Alongside the competitive grants, the Office of Electricity also runs a separate, no deadline support service, offering up to 60 hours of free technical help for communities not yet ready to apply for a full grant. Katie Jereza, Assistant Secretary for Electricity, said the program depends on people as much as money.
Power grids aren't built by equipment alone, they're built by people who can turn plans into reality.
Katie Jereza, Assistant Secretary for Electricity. Source 4.