In April 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Grid Modernization Initiative (GMI) conducted its first external peer review of the projects awarded to the GMLC to execute a diverse portfolio of technologies to modernize the nation’s grid. The portfolio is organized into six technical pillars which reflect the DOE Grid Modernization Multi-Year Program Plan for as described below. The 2017 Project Peer Review took place April 18–21, 2017, outside of Washington, D.C., in Arlington, Virginia. Thirty Foundational Projects of the 87 publicly funded projects in the portfolio were evaluated. The entire portfolio was reviewed in the Poster Session on the first day.

Foundational Projects (Category 1) are larger, multi-lab, holistic cross-cutting projects that receive support from multiple DOE office and programs. Due to the cross-cutting nature of these topics and projects, the projects are closely coordinated by the GMLC.

Program Office Specific Projects (Category 2) address their Program Office specific requirements for grid modernization, not covered sufficiently well or specifically in the Foundational Platform Activity Topics.

The peer review process enables external stakeholders to provide feedback on the responsible use of taxpayer funding and develop recommendations for the most efficient and effective ways to accelerate the development of grid modernization technology in the industry and community. The planning and execution of these reviews were completed over the course of eight months, and this report includes the results of the peer review.

The six technology areas reviewed during the 2017 Project Peer Review are as follows (in alphabetical order):

• Design and Planning Tools
• Devices and Integrated Systems
• Institutional Support
• Security and Resilience
• Sensing and Measurement
• System Operations, Power Flow, and Control

A total of 30 projects across six technology areas were reviewed by a total of sixteen (16) external experts from industry, academia, other government agencies, and the non-profit sector. Each review panel developed overall recommendations regarding the focus, management, and impact of the projects in each technology area. In addition, a team of lead reviewers recommended overall guidance for GMI based on the peer review. Results of the 2017 Peer Review have been, and will be, used to help inform programmatic decision making, modify or discontinue existing projects, guide future funding opportunities, and support other budget and strategic planning objectives.