This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) facilitates the modernization of our electrical grid, enhances energy efficiency, reduces emissions, drives the development of a robust workforce, and bolsters delivery of reliable, clean, and affordable energy to American families and businesses.

This FOA seeks applications to address three goals:

1. Transform the U.S. electric grid at the transmission and distribution levels by increasing resilience in the face of extreme disruptions, enabling data-rich and flexible grid performance, and spurring innovation at all stages of project ideation and execution;
2. Prioritize energy justice as an essential component of infrastructure development by dramatically altering the relationship between energy providers and their communities; and
3. Catalyze and leverage private sector and non-federal public capital for impactful technology and infrastructure deployment.

Priority Areas for Investment

Below are a list of Projects and Technologies that are a high priority for this FOA:

• Projects that cover multiple utility service territories and will evolve and share utility best practices that increase resilience against extreme weather and adapt to the changing energy and technology landscapes.
• Projects that address substation hardening, including the automation and digitization of substations, and/or coordination with upgrades that enable distributed energy resource integration and electrification readiness.
• Projects that propose to construct new transmission infrastructure to resolve a specific and identified contingency condition that the applicant has been unable to resolve using standard investment and planning approaches.
• Projects that significantly increase the transmission capacity of existing rights-of-way using advanced conductors, grid-enhancing technologies, or high-voltage direct current in coordination with investments that enable integration and full utilization of high-capacity corridors.
• Projects that will deploy solutions to increasing the processing of interconnection applications and minimize the queue-related delays for clean energy and electrification loads at both the transmission and distribution levels.
• Projects that in combination with priority investments will foster growth of a highly skilled power sector workforce and minimize workforce constraints associated with power sector innovation.
• Projects that have a significant impact on the transmission system, including projects that leverage advanced transmission technologies and can reduce or remove the existing technical, economic, and regulatory barriers, demonstrate enhanced operational flexibility or capacity, and that enhance reliability to accelerate wide scale transmission expansion and renewable energy interconnection.
• Projects that implement novel and replicable approaches to reducing energy burden and increasing resilience for disadvantaged communities, especially projects that increase access to cheaper generation resources and reduce the impact of infrastructure costs.

Topic Areas

There are three topic areas in this FOA.

• Topic Area 1: Grid Resilience Grants (BIL section 40101(c)): This program supports activities that reduce the likelihood and consequence of impacts to the electric grid due to extreme weather, wildfire, and natural disaster. The statutory language requires prioritization of projects that will generate the greatest community benefit (whether rural or urban) in reducing the likelihood and consequences of disruptive events.
• Topic Area 2: Smart Grid Grants (BIL section 4010714): The 40107 Smart Grid Grants program is aimed at supporting projects that will achieve the goals and objectives set out in FOA Section I.A.ii through innovative and ambitious uses of cutting-edge, market-ready technologies. These technologies can include new devices, materials, engineering designs, or software tools.
• Topic Area 3: Grid Innovation Program (BIL section 40103(b)): The 40103(b) program is targeted at achieving the goals and objectives set out in FOA Section I.A.ii through high-impact, innovative projects. DOE seeks applications that may include technical and/or non-technical (e.g., focused on regulatory or business model innovation) approaches that improve grid reliability and resilience on the local, regional, and interregional scales. Applications may address the transmission system, the distribution system, storage, or a combination. DOE particularly seeks projects that include Independent System Operators (ISO), Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO), and/or Power Pools and will progress the field in the following areas: demonstrate an innovation in the approach to the project or deploy a technology innovation.

Eligible Applicants

Topic Area 1:

• electric grid operator;
• electricity storage operator;
• electricity generator;
• transmission owner or operator;
• distribution provider;
• fuel supplier;
• and any other relevant entity, as determined by the Secretary.

Topic Area 2:

• institutions of higher education;
• for-profit entities;
• non-profit and not-for-profit entities; and
• State and local governmental entities, and tribal nations.

Topic Area 3:

• a State;
• a combination of 2 or more States;
• an Indian Tribe;
• a unit of local government; and
• a public utility commission.

For all Topic Areas, eligibility is restricted to Domestic Entities.