Resilient, Smart and Innovated Grid Opportunity.

There is an increase in threats to our power system infrastructure as a result of climate change and in terms of temperature extremes and precipitation, disruptive weather events are becoming more intense and affecting larger areas at a time. Climate change poses increasing risks to the power system that previous methods and approaches have not been able to address. Thus, a more resilient and reliable grid becomes more important as a result of these trends.

In order to accomplish this, the Grid Deployment Office (GDO) and the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) have issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), which will be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). A total of $10.5 billion will be invested over five years in three BIL programs to improve grid reliability and resilience. Under the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program the Department of Energy (DOE) seeks to leverage federal funds to unlock transformative projects that would not be possible otherwise. The GRIP program is made up of the following BIL sections:

Section 40101(c): Grid Resilience Grants

In this program, activities are supported that reduce the impact of wildfires, natural disasters and extreme weather on the electric grid. The statutory language requires prioritization of those projects that will reduce the likelihood and consequences of disruptive events in rural or urban areas.

In order to mitigate one or more hazards such as wildfire, flood, hurricane, extreme heat, extreme cold, storms, and other events that can disrupt the power system, including fires, floods, hurricanes, extreme temperatures, extreme cold, and storms within a region or within a community, DOE is seeking solutions to transmission and distribution technology problems that are comprehensive and transformative.

The DOE is anticipating awarding 10 projects with approximately $918 Million available for awards and a performance period of 60 months.

Section 40107: Smart Grid Grants

The Focus on smart grids is to develop and deploy technology solutions to improve the efficiency, reliability, and resilience of the grid, with a particular focus on increasing its capability to meet the following objectives:

• increase the capacity of transmission facilities or the capability of the transmission system to reliably transfer increased amounts of electric energy;
• prevent faults that may lead to wildfires or other system disturbances;
• integrate variable renewable energy resources at the transmission and distribution levels; and,
• facilitate the aggregation and integration (edge-computing) of electric vehicles and other grid-edge devices or electrified loads.

In order to improve the smart grid, the following investments are prioritized:

• Increasing transmission capacity and operational transfer capacity through grid enhancing technologies such as dynamic line rating, flow control devices, advanced conductors, and network topology optimization, to improve system efficiency and reliability.
• Improving the visibility of the electrical system to grid operators, to help quickly rebalance the electrical system with autonomous controls, through data analytics, software, and sensors.
• Enhance secure communication and data flow between distribution components, through investments in optical ground wire, dark fiber, operational fiber, and wireless broadband communications networks.
• Aggregation and integration of distributed energy resources and other “gridedge” devices to provide system benefits, such as renewable energy resources, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, vehicle-to-grid technologies and capabilities, and smart building technologies.
• Enhancing interoperability and data architecture of systems that support two-way flow of both electric power and localized analytics to provide information between electricity system operators and consumers.
• Anticipate and mitigate the impacts of extreme weather or natural disaster on grid resiliency, including investments to increase the ability to redirect or shut of power to minimize blackouts, prevent wildfires, and avoid further damage.

The DOE is anticipating awarding 25 to 40 projects with approximately $1,018 Million available for awards and a performance period of 60 months.

Section 40103(b): Grid Innovation Program

At the moment, there are not enough projects being developed that would ensure reliability and resilience of the grid, particularly those that would achieve the following outcomes for the transmission system: 1) increasing transfer capacity between regions, 2) addressing the most consequential system needs and challenges that cause or contribute to long and increasing interconnection queue time for clean energy, and 3) increasing supply of a geographically and technologically diverse sets of location-constrained energy resources to enhance resource adequacy and reduce correlated generation outages.

In an effort to support innovation the Department of Energy is looking for local, regional, and interregional solutions that improve grid reliability and resilience. There are many innovative approaches that can be used to develop projects, including advanced technologies, innovative partnerships, financial arrangements, innovative budgeting and cost allocation approaches, and strategies for controlling environmental impacts and obtaining permits.

To facilitate coordination and collaboration between electric sector owners and operators, this program provides financial assistance to eligible entities (States, local governments, Tribes, public utility commissions) to:

• demonstrate innovative approaches to transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure to harden and enhance resilience and reliability; and
• demonstrate new approaches to enhance regional grid resilience, implemented through States by public and rural electric cooperative entities on a cost-shared basis.

The DOE is looking for projects that contribute to the following objectives.

• Ensuring reliable grid operations
• Improving overall grid resilience
• Enhancing collaboration between and among eligible entities and private and public sector owners and operators on grid resilience, including in alignment with regional resilience strategies and plans.
• Contributing to the decarbonization of the electricity and broader energy system.
• Providing enhanced system value, improving current and future system cost effectiveness, and delivering economic benefits.

The DOE is anticipating awarding 4 to 40 projects with approximately $1,820 Million available for awards and a performance period of 60 to 96 months.

Below is the link to Opportunity: BIL Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships ( GRIP). FedConnect.

?Opportunity: BIL Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships ( GRIP). FedConnect. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2Ffedconnect%2F%3Fdoc%3DDE-FOA-0002740%26agency%3DDOE&doc=DE-FOA-0002740&agency=DOE?