DOE Better Plants Program — Industrial Energy Efficiency Partnership
U.S. Department of Energy — Industrial Technologies Office (ITO, successor to IEDO)
Free (technical assistance)
Free DOE energy expertise for manufacturers
Better Plants is a voluntary DOE partnership program where manufacturing companies commit to a 25% energy intensity reduction over 10 years in exchange for technical assistance, peer benchmarking data, recognition, and access to DOE's energy engineers. Participating companies receive free energy assessments, energy management best practices, and direct access to DOE national lab expertise. The program covers all manufacturing sectors and plant sizes — from small job shops to Fortune 500 plants.
- Funding type
- Program
- Level
- Federal
- Amount
- No cash grant. Value is delivered as free technical assistance — energy audits, process optimization recommendations, access to DOE's 50001 Ready energy management program, and recognition as a DOE Better Plants Partner. DOE estimates the program has helped participating companies save an average of 15–30% in energy costs, often translating to $200K–$2M per facility in annual savings.
- Realistic amount
- No direct cash award. Partners report energy cost savings of $100K–$2M per facility annually after implementing DOE reco…
- Deadline
- Rolling — new partners can join at any time throughout the year
- Status
- active
- States
- Nationwide
- Payment model
- subsidized services
Who qualifies
- Must be a U.S.-based manufacturing company with at least one U.S. production facility. The commitment is at the company level, not per-facility, though reporting is done at the facility level.
- Commit to reducing energy intensity by 25% across your U.S. manufacturing facilities within 10 years from the baseline year. Energy intensity is measured as energy consumed per unit of production (Btu/unit, not absolute consumption).
- Agree to annual reporting of facility-level energy data and progress toward the 25% goal. Data is shared with DOE but maintained as confidential — aggregate/anonymized data is published for benchmarking.
- No minimum size requirement — individual facilities as small as 20,000 sq ft are accepted. Large multi-site manufacturers and single-plant job shops both participate.
- No SAM.gov registration required — this is a technical assistance partnership, not a federal grant or contract.
- No cost-sharing requirement — the program is free to join and free to use.
Hard requirements
- Restricted to specific NAICS codes: 31, 32, 33
What it covers
Eligible expenses
- Program participation is free — no application fee, no membership cost
- DOE-provided energy assessments are at no cost to the company
- Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) energy audits are free for qualifying small/medium manufacturers (under $15M in annual electric bills, under 500 employees)
- Energy management software and DOE tools are free
- DOE-sponsored training events and webinars are free
Ineligible expenses
- Capital equipment to implement energy savings — not funded by DOE (though DOE loan programs and incentives can be explored separately)
- Implementation costs for recommended energy projects — companies fund their own upgrades
- Facility construction or retrofits — out of scope for this technical assistance program
- Non-manufacturing facilities (offices, retail, distribution centers without a significant manufacturing process)
How to apply
-
1
Review commitment requirements and assess readiness
Visit energy.gov/eere/iedo/better-plants and review the program commitment documents. The 25% energy intensity reduction commitment is real — DOE tracks it annually and publicizes progress. Assess whether your facilities have meaningful energy reduction opportunity (answer: almost all manufacturing facilities do; typical first-year savings are 5–15% from operational changes alone).
~1 hrs
-
2
Submit letter of intent and program agreement
Submit a brief letter of intent via the online join form at betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/better-plants/join. DOE contacts you within 2–4 weeks to schedule an onboarding call and finalize the partnership agreement. The agreement is a commitment letter, not a federal contract — no procurement regulations apply.
~1 hrs
-
3
Establish baseline energy data
Work with your DOE account manager to establish a baseline energy intensity figure for your facilities. DOE provides templates and software (Energy Footprint Tool) to collect and organize facility-level energy data. Baseline year is typically the year of joining.
~1 hrs
-
4
Access technical assistance and resources
Once enrolled, access DOE's Better Plants technical assistance: free energy assessments, access to DOE Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs) for small/medium manufacturers, peer benchmarking data, on-site or virtual energy audits, ISO 50001 energy management system implementation support, and the Better Plants Solution Center knowledge base.
~1 hrs
-
5
Report annually and use recognition benefits
Submit annual energy data each January–March via DOE's partner portal. Companies hitting milestones (10%, 25%) receive DOE recognition at the Better Buildings Summit (a major annual event) — valuable for customer-facing sustainability credentials, employee engagement, and supply chain prequalification requirements.
~1 hrs
Industry & certifications
NAICS codes: 31, 32, 33
Better Plants is non-competitive — if you manufacture anything, you qualify. The free IAC energy audit alone (worth $5K–$15K if paid privately) justifies joining. The DOE recognition certificate is increasingly required by large corporate customers' supplier sustainability programs.
Deadline & timing
Better Plants accepts new partners year-round with no competitive application deadline. Companies submit a letter of intent (1 page) agreeing to the 25% energy reduction commitment and annual reporting requirements. DOE reviews and formalizes the partnership within 30–60 days. Annual reporting is required each January–March for the prior year.
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Last reviewed 2026. GrantCompass is an independent funding-discovery tool and is not affiliated with any government agency. Always confirm details on the official program page.