The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) has released two Notices of Intent (NOIs) to issue funding to support R&D of groundbreaking electric grid technologies.
OE aims to issue two Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) totaling $13 million to promote a more reliable, resilient, secure, and affordable electric grid by the end of 2024.
Upgrading critical systems and controls will extend the life of existing grid components, increase the grid’s ability to receive, transmit, and deliver electricity, and improve communications to help predict and prevent failures. Additionally, quantifying and communicating risk and uncertainties to decision-makers and human operators will deliver more accurate and effective prediction, prevention, and mitigation of cascading failures in the grid.
“These funding opportunities will advance the development of innovative hardware and cutting-edge software solutions that will increase the reliability and lower the overall cost of America’s electricity transmission system,” said Gene Rodrigues, Assistant Secretary for Electricity.
The funding opportunities will include:
· $8 million Renewable Integration Management with Innovative High Voltage Direct Current Power Circuit Breakers (REIMAGINE BREAKERS) NOFO
· $5 million Human-Centric Analytics for Resilient & Modernized Power sYstems (HARMONY) NOFO
OE and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) plan to issue the REIMAGINE BREAKERS NOFO to support R&D related to HVDC power circuit breakers. This NOFO aims to support grid modernization and the advancement of clean energy by reducing the cost of high voltage circuit breaker technology, therefore supporting widespread adoption of HVDC transmission systems.
DOE expects announcing the $8 million NOFO ($7 million from OE, $1 million from WETO) by the end of 2024. The number of awards depends on applications submitted and fund availability. If the NOFO is released, it will be posted at FedConnect.
Preventing and mitigating power grid failures is important for reliability and resiliency. The Human-Centric Analytics for Resilient & Modernized Power sYstems (HARMONY) NOFO from OE intends to improve risk assessment and communication for grid operators in the age of big data.
If the NOFO is released, approximately $5 million in funding is expected to be available to award new cooperative agreements for three-year research and development projects. OE is expected to announce the NOFO by the end of 2024 and it will be posted at FedConnect.
