DOE To Invest Over $100M for Field Demos, Research for Grid Planning and Operations

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue multiple funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) totaling over $100 million for field demonstrations and other research to support better planning and operation of the electric grid.

The investment will not only fund field demonstrations and other research to support better planning and operation of distributed energy systems but also help optimize systems with grid-connected buildings and vehicles powered by clean, distributed energy generation. 

The efforts, aligned with Earthshots like the Affordable Home Energy Shot, the Clean Fuels and Products Shot, and the Industrial Heat Shot, will help reduce grid capacity barriers to clean energy deployment.

“To deploy clean energy faster across the U.S., we need to bring more local, renewable sources onto the grid,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Jeff Marootian. “Better built environments will make clean energy more affordable and accessible, and create a more secure, resilient energy future for the American people.”

The U.S. electric grid is moving to a bidirectional system, enabling a two-way flow of electricity from end user to the grid and back. Technologies such as rooftop solar, electric vehicles, and storage will help increase grid resiliency but also add complexity and new challenges to the system. 

The projects selected under these FOAs will strengthen the integration of these resources, support grid planning and operation, and enable the widespread and equitable deployment of these technologies.

The anticipated FOAs include:

• Connected Communities 2.0 will leverage foundational approaches from existing Connected Communities projects to advance solutions for the grid edge, where electricity distribution transitions between the utility and the customer, at community scale, integrating buildings and transportation, community renewables, and storage technologies.
• Solar Technologies’ Rapid Integration and Validation for Energy Systems (STRIVES) to develop and demonstrate technology and market tools for better integration of distributed energy resources including solar, wind, and energy storage.
• SuperTruck Charge will address the challenges associated with vehicles-to-grid integration and large-scale charging installations for medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

The offices leading the FOAs are the Building Technologies Office, Solar Energy Technologies Office, and Vehicle Technologies Office, in collaboration with the Geothermal Technologies Office, Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office, Wind Energy Technologies Office, in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy EERE and DOE’s Office of Electricity.