Below you can find a list of both active and past Grid Modernization Initiative funding opportunities. To receive notice of new funding opportunities, please subscribe to our mailing list.
Active Funding Opportunities
2023 Grid Modernization Lab Call
The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced a $38 million funding opportunity for National Laboratories to advance key research and development priorities, in five topic areas, needed to build a grid that can deliver resilient, reliable, flexible, secure, sustainable, affordable, and equitable electricity. Funding from this Grid Modernization Initiative lab call will be used to develop and support the deployment of concepts, tools, and technologies to better integrate all sources of electricity and energy storage, improve our nation's cybersecurity, and incorporate energy justice and climate data in grid planning and operation.
Past Funding Opportunities
Sensor and Modeling Approaches for Enhanced Observability and Controllability of Power Systems with Distributed Energy Resources
The focus of the FOA is to capture the benefits commonly attributed to DERs and/or microgrids, as well as to establish new value propositions that could be enabled by low cost sensors and improved modeling that uses sensor data input. New value propositions could include, but are not limited to, mitigating ancillary resource requirements and meeting growing demands for reliable and resilient grid operations against outages under all-hazards conditions.
Enabling Extreme Real-Time Grid Integration of Solar Energy (ENERGISE)
As part of the Department of Energy's Grid Modernization and SunShot Initiatives, this Enabling Extreme Real-Time Grid Integration of Solar Energy (ENERGISE) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) supports the research and development of highly scalable distribution system planning and real-time operation solutions that enables seamless interconnection and integration of high penetration solar generation onto the electricity grid in a cost-effective, secure, and reliable manner. The envisioned ENERGISE solutions will require the extensive use of sensor, communication, and data analytics technologies to gather up-to-the-minute measurement and forecast data from diverse sources and perform continuous optimization analysis and active control for existing and new PV installations in real time. The solutions need be compatible with the existing grid architecture in the near term and with the advanced grid architecture in the long term. The solutions should also be designed with consideration of the interoperability and cybersecurity requirements.
Synchrophasor Applications and Tools for Reliability and Asset Management
The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to support the industry’s transition to technologies led by time-synchronized, high-speed measurements, which from this point forward will be referenced as synchrophasor technologies. Synchrophasors will affect the evolution of the US grid by improving system reliability, increasing the utilization of existing transmission assets, and improving the efficiency of wholesale market operations.
Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems Research Call
DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE), is seeking applications for high-risk, high-payoff, research, development and demonstration of technologies and techniques that advance the state-of-the-art, offer new capabilities not available today, and that will be widely adopted for use throughout the energy sector to further strengthen cybersecurity of the U.S. energy delivery infrastructure.
Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies II - State Energy Strategies (SEEDSII-SES)
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) aims to reduce the soft costs of solar deployment through two approaches, referred to as Topic 1 and Topic 2 in the FOA. The first topic, “Topic 1” is targeted at increasing our foundational understanding of technology evolution, soft costs, and barriers to solar deployment in the US. By combining cutting edge research tools with the creation, analysis and functionalization of data and information, this second round of the Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies (SEEDS) program will examine how solar technologies, the electric grid system, and the institutions that create the solar business marketplace support or impede the evolution and diffusion of solar by partnering researchers with data and energy practitioners. “Topic 2” will directly tackle soft costs and market barrier challenges at the state and regional level by maximizing the benefits of solar electricity through energy and economic strategic planning. This program targets partnerships between states and utilities/electricity sector entities that look to increase solar deployment in their region. This will be achieved through analytical support to develop and implement strategies to: determine or expand renewable energy and other goals, such as: maximizing emissions reductions; hedging against fuel price volatility; creating jobs; expanding access to electricity; and/or increasing grid resiliency, among others.
Addressing Risk and Uncertainty in the Future Power System
The nation’s wholesale electricity markets and transmission planning are in a state of transition. The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is interested in both operational and planning modeling and computation methodologies/techniques needed to support the future engineering and market functions required by these systems. Addressing risk and uncertainty is central to meeting the needs and ensuring reliability is a fundamental requirement of the system. There are three research areas for this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA): a) wholesale market operations, b) transmission planning, and c) demand-side participation.
Industry Partnerships for Cybersecurity of Energy Delivery Systems (CEDS) Research, Development and Demonstration for the Energy Sector
The Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is seeking applications under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), herein referred to as Announcement, to conduct research, development and demonstrations (RD&D). This RD&D will lead to next generation tools and technologies that will become widely adopted to enhance and accelerate deployment of cybersecurity capabilities for the U.S energy infrastructure, including cyber secure integration of smart grid technologies.
SunShot Technology to Market (Incubator Round 11, Solarmat Round 4)
The purpose of this funding program is to help remove barriers that are addressable by technology and business innovation. These solutions cover hardware innovation and manufacturing, software, cost-reductions throughout the value chain, and non-cost (capability) related solutions. These solutions are expected to aid in achieving a ubiquitous solar energy solution and provide a clear path for these highly impactful technologies and solutions to rapidly reach market success. This funding program seeks to fund for-profit entities to develop products and solutions which will further reduce the price of solar energy and de-risk the integration of solar energy to the electricity grid.
GRID MODERNIZATION LAB CALL
The lab call constituted of the Department’s Activities for the Grid Modernization Initiative in FY2016. Offices to the lab call include the Office of Electricity and Energy Reliability, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and the Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis. Since only DOE National Laboratories were eligible to apply as primary recipients under this Lab Call, the awards issued were through the Work Authorization System based on a Field Work Proposal (FWP), an Inter Entity Work Order (IWO), an Annual Operating Plan (EERE) or other allowable instrument deemed appropriate by the Government.
Design Support Tool for Remote Off-grid Microgrids
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE), is seeking proposals for research and development (R&D), testing, and transitioning into practice of a design support tool for remote off-grid microgrids. An overarching goal of this Research Call (Call) is that the developed tool must be capable of providing decision support analysis on AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current) microgrids to meet user-defined objectives and constraints for costs and energy system security. The tool developed as a result of this Call must facilitate the design of microgrids that encompass mixes of generation assets and load profiles that are typical of remote communities; and be capable of conducting such analyses as may be necessary to validate that corresponding design parameters, planned operational performance and expected benefits of microgrids can be achieved effectively and economically. The developed tool should be readily usable by designers of microgrids for off-grid applications in remote communities and should be useful for the DOE in evaluating all remote microgrid applications.
Academic Collaboration for Cybersecurity of Energy Delivery Systems Research and Development for the Energy Sector
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE), is seeking applications for an academic collaboration with expertise in power system engineering and cybersecurity computer science to innovate and transition cybersecurity capabilities to the energy sector to reduce the risk of power disruption resulting from a cyber-incident.
The Resilient Electricity Delivery Infrastructure (REDI) Initiative
The Resilient Electricity Delivery Infrastructure (REDI) InitiatThe Resilient Electricity Delivery Infrastructure (REDI) Initiative is a Department of Energy (DOE) action that focuses on technology transfer of smart grid advances to support the White House initiatives responding to the needs of communities nationwide that are dealing with the impacts of climate change. Through the REDI initiative, the DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (DOE-OE) is providing opportunities to deploy smart grid technologies/tools to improve climate preparedness and resiliency of the electricity delivery infrastructure.
SunShot Technology to Market (Incubator Round 10, SolarMaT Round 3, SUNPATH Round 2)
The purpose of this funding program is to help remove barriers that are addressable by technology and business innovation. These solutions cover hardware innovation and manufacturing, software, cost-reductions throughout the value chain, and non-cost (capability) related solutions. These solutions are expected to aid in achieving a ubiquitous solar energy solution and provide a clear path for these highly impactful technologies and solutions to rapidly reach market success. This funding program seeks to fund for-profit entities to develop products and solutions which will further reduce the price of solar energy and de-risk the integration of solar energy to the electricity grid
Sustainable and Holistic Integration of Energy Storage and Solar PV (SHINES)
The SunShot Initiative (SunShot) is a national collaborative effort to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity by the end of the decade. The installed cost of solar photovoltaics (PV) has reduced significantly in recent years, spurring significant and accelerating deployment of PV systems. With the anticipated proliferation of solar power at the centralized and distributed scales, the variability and uncertainty of the solar resource poses challenges for reliably integrating photovoltaics (PV) with electric power systems, both at the distribution and bulk system levels.
The goal of the Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, SHINES Funding Opportunity is to enable the development and demonstration of integrated, scalable, and cost-effective technologies for solar that incorporates energy storage and works seamlessly to meet both consumer needs and the needs of the electricity grid. Such an integrated solution should utilize smart inverters, and be capable of working with smart buildings, smart appliances, and utility communication and control systems. The solutions thus developed will enable widespread sustainable deployment of low-cost, flexible, and reliable PV generation, and provide for successful integration of PV power plants with the electric grid.
Click on the Links Below to Learn More About GMI
Grid Modernization Lab Consortium
Resilient Distribution Systems Lab Call Awards