The U.S. Small Business Administrations (SBA) is recognizing outstanding entrepreneurs and small businesses during National Small Businesses Week, April 29-May 5. During this time, the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is spotlighting the efforts of its own robust Small Business Program.

Small businesses thrive at NETL, providing a significant amount of goods and services. In fact, during fiscal year 2017, NETL spent 39 percent of its procurement dollars with small businesses, an amount that exceeds SBA’s federal governmentwide goal of 23 percent. This includes the five small businesses which have contracts with NETL supporting each of the three sites: Morgantown, West Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Albany, Oregon. These contracts along with the Lab’s simplified acquisitions from small businesses totaled $79 million in fiscal year 2017.

NETL provides various resources for small business owners who are interested in working with the Lab and who fall into one of SBA’s set aside categories. For instance, NETL hosted the SBA’s annual meeting for 8(a) Small Business Development Program participants from their West Virginia and Pittsburgh District Offices on April 13. The 8(a) program provides valuable assistance to help small, disadvantaged businesses develop skills to compete in both the federal and commercial marketplace and is administered across the nation by the SBA.

The Lab welcomes the opportunity to learn more about companies who fall within set-aside categories and who are affiliated with the construction industry, which also includes service-disabled veteran-owned, women-owned, or are located in a designated Historically Underutilized Business Zone as defined by the SBA. Small businesses are encouraged to market their capabilities to NETL through a one-page capabilities statement and to participate in procurement trainings offered by the SBA. 

Small businesses interested in learning more about NETL’s procurement opportunities should visit the website www.netl.doe.gov/business. Additional information on opportunities for the Department of Energy nationwide may be obtained by visiting the DOE Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization’s website at www.energy.gov/osdbu/office-small-and-disadvantaged-business-utilization with DOE opportunities posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website at www.fbo.gov.  For more information on SBA’s contracting programs, visit https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting.

Contact:

• Shelley Martin, DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory, 304-285-0228, contact.publicaffairs@netl.doe.gov