U.S. Division of Vitality Offers $65 Million for Linked Communities: Improvements To Handle Rising Constructing, Transportation, and Industrial Masses on the Grid

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Immediately, the U.S. Division of Vitality (DOE) introduced as much as $65 million for Linked Communities 2.0, a funding alternative announcement (FOA) to drive innovation to handle rising constructing, transportation, and industrial electrical hundreds on the grid. This FOA seeks to validate grid-edge expertise improvements in real-world conditions and supply new instruments for utilities, grid planners and operators, automakers and good cost administration service suppliers, and the communities they serve. This FOA accelerates progress towards the Biden–Harris Administration’s purpose of a clear vitality economic system for all People by optimizing techniques with grid-connected buildings and electrical automobiles (EVs) powered by clear, distributed vitality era and demonstrating these superior applied sciences are dependable, environment friendly, safe, and prepared for wide-scale adoption.

This FOA has two main topical areas:

• Linked Communities, centered on grid edge technical measures in buildings, business, and transportation to organize the electrical grid for these new hundreds, and enhance the shopper advantages and grid resilience.
• Good Cost Administration, centered on numerous distinctive city, suburban, and rural use instances to construct confidence in it as an efficient method for electrical automobiles to offer flexibility and worth to the electrical grid.

Linked Communities 2.0 builds on successes and classes discovered from the primary cohort of Linked Communities, launched in 2020, and DOE’s authentic good neighborhoods in Georgia and Alabama. The primary Linked Communities initiatives centered on integration of distributed vitality sources to help a extra variable grid. The two.0 model goals to foster improvement of latest applied sciences to make sure that the grid is versatile, resilient, and sized appropriately to accommodate growing hundreds from automobile charging, knowledge facilities, and constructing and industrial electrification. Examples embrace managed EV charging, low-power home equipment, good panels, vitality storage, vitality effectivity, and rooftop photo voltaic, in addition to progressive distribution and grid planning methods.

“It’s critical that we plan for an influence system that’s safe, environment friendly, and versatile utilizing grid edge applied sciences,” stated Jeff Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Vitality Effectivity and Renewable Vitality.  “Linked Communities 2.0 will supercharge these efforts by forging improvements that may be replicated in communities throughout America whereas making certain affordability, fairness, and resilience.”

The Linked Communities 2.0 FOA helps progress in the direction of a decarbonized, equitable, and reasonably priced electrical energy system. The FOA has three principal targets:

• Show how good and coordinated administration of EVs and different distributed vitality sources can collectively present grid help, cut back system prices, and encourage buyer adoption.
• Show approaches to good change administration, grid-edge technical measures, and progressive planning methods as legitimate strategies in the direction of proper sizing investments within the distribution system.
• Show approaches in the direction of improved resilience for communities, end-use prospects, and the general grid.

To these ends, this FOA targets 4 areas for analysis, improvement, and demonstration:

• Subject validation of grid-edge technical measures that cut back the required degree of funding into distribution infrastructure.
• Subject validation of good cost administration for EVs that may be deployed at massive scale.
• Demonstration of elevated buyer advantages and grid resilience utilizing grid edge technical measures, each in entrance of and behind the meter.
• Knowledge assortment to evaluate system readiness for brand new hundreds.

This FOA incorporates lots of the early classes discovered from the earlier Linked Communities cohort by soliciting initiatives to create scalable options for grid planners and communities to attain decarbonization and electrification targets. Attaining these targets require minimizing impacts to the distribution grid, mitigating infrastructure improve wants, bettering buyer experiences, and strengthening effectivity and group resilience. The FOA priorities align with the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice40 Initiative targets to make sure that at the very least 40% of federal investments movement to deprived communities, recognizing that these communities usually have entry to the least strong vitality infrastructure.

Integration is crucial to Linked Communities, and DOE’s Workplace of Vitality Effectivity and Renewable Vitality (EERE) and Workplace of Electrical energy are collaborating to help built-in vitality system planning with a community of expertise places of work and business companions. The Linked Communities 2.0 FOA is issued by EERE’s Constructing Applied sciences Workplace and Car Applied sciences Workplace in collaboration with the Photo voltaic Vitality Applied sciences Workplace, Industrial Effectivity and Decarbonization Workplace, and Geothermal Applied sciences Workplace.

This FOA is a part of EERE’s efforts to situation over $100 million for discipline demonstrations and different analysis to help higher planning and operation of the electrical grid.

Required idea papers are due Aug. 20, 2024, at 5 p.m. E.T, and full functions are due Oct. 10, 2024, at 5 p.m. E.T.

To be taught extra, go to the FOA touchdown web page and be part of an informational webinar on July 29, 2024.

Courtesy of U.S. Division of Vitality