WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $32 million for six select pilot projects that will support new load growth through cutting-edge innovations and the ability of energy providers to correctly size network investments for future load growth. These connected communities projects in eight states will also provide new strategies and tools for utilities, grid planners and operators, automobile manufacturers, electric vehicle (EV) intelligent charging management service providers, and communities that they serve in order to improve resilience and reduce costs.
“Providing low-cost, resilient, and reliable energy to all Americans is a top priority for DOE,” said Jeff Marootian, principal deputy secretary of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “As our nation’s energy system faces unprecedented demand growth, it is more important than ever to deploy solutions that maximize all of our energy resources and provide the most efficient, reliable and reliable electricity. as affordable as possible. These pilot projects will leverage the latest cutting-edge network solutions. such as energy efficiency, demand-responsive building systems, energy storage, smart electric vehicle charging and advanced grid planning strategies, to equip communities and utilities with the tools and data they need they need to confidently manage our evolving electricity grid.
DOE continues to evaluate applications for this funding opportunity and intends to award additional projects up to one total of 65 million dollarsas initially announced, with additional selections as exams are completed.
Connected Communities 2.0 builds on the successes and lessons learned from the first cohort of Connected Communities, launched in 2020, and the DOE’s first smart neighborhoods in Georgia and Alabama. The first Connected community projects focused on integrating distributed energy resources (DER) to support a more variable grid. Version 2.0 aims to address growing network challenges head-on, ensuring that necessary upgrades are properly sized to accommodate growing loads at vehicle charging sites, data centers, buildings and sites industrial, so as to take advantage of the flexibility of these new loads. . As part of this process, DOE selects a cohort and collects the necessary data to ensure the network is highly flexible and resilient.
Connected Communities 2.0 is structured around two major axes:
- Connected communities (theme 1)focused on state-of-the-art integrated technical measures in buildings, industry and transportation to prepare the power grid for new loads and improve customer benefits and network resilience.
- Intelligent load management (sub-theme 1A)focused on various unique use cases in urban, suburban and rural settings to build confidence in intelligent load management as an effective approach for electric vehicles to bring flexibility and value to the power grid.
Three projects were selected in each area.
The selected connected communities are:
- The Acceleration of Connected Electric Loads and Community-Wide Energy Reliability Achieved Through Integration with the National Grid (ACCELERATION) Connectivity Initiative (Minnesota)led by the Beneficial Electrification League, will advance a scalable, nationwide approach to building load management. The project will prioritize partnerships with Minnesota electric cooperatives that advance communications to optimize residential thermal loads as grid assets. (Reward amount: $5.3 million)
- Purdue University (Indiana) will demonstrate pathways for rural electric cooperatives to improve energy efficiency and resilience to new load growth, in collaboration with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Pathways include engaging with rural communities, piloting financial programs, coordinating DERs across systems, and scaling lessons learned. (Reward amount: $5.9 million)
- The RECHARGE (Responsive Energy Communities Harnessing Advanced Grid Efficiency) initiative (California)led by Pacific Gas & Electric will target residential units, businesses and industry in the City of San Jose and Fresno County. RECHARGE will address the growing challenges of electricity demand and distribution capacity in these communities. (Reward amount: $6 million)
Those selected for intelligent load management are:
- One Energy Companies (Ohio) will pioneer a community charging depot for medium and heavy-duty truck fleets, which will integrate advanced microgrid technology and DERs to minimize charging investments, while optimizing the network. The site will be located in Findlay, Ohio, with plans to expand to support more Class 6-8 electric trucks. (Award amount: $3.2 million)
- Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, Maryland will use a multi-faceted distributed energy resource management system to unlock grid-aware managed charging functionality. The project will feature technology that reduces peak residential electric vehicle charging loads, lowers infrastructure upgrade costs and adjusts charging schedules to alleviate grid congestion. (Reward amount: $5.9 million)
- EV.Energy (California, Florida, Alaska, Rhode Island and Hawaii) will demonstrate and validate smart load management solutions in five different utility territories in five different states. Smart load management approaches will include optimizing renewable energy adaptation, reducing grid congestion, smoothing timer peaks, expanding access to charging for multi-family housing and vehicle technologies home and vehicle-to-network. (Reward amount: $6 million)
The six projects selected today will demonstrate the capabilities of advanced technologies and integrated power systems that are efficient, resilient, flexible and affordable, as well as distribution and grid planning strategies that can be replicated across the United States .
Integration is essential to connected communities, and the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) And Electricity Office collaborate to support integrated energy system planning with a network of technology offices and industry partners. Connected Communities 2.0 funding announcement led by EERE Building Technology Office And Vehicle Technology Office in collaboration with the Office of Solar Energy Technologies, Office of Industrial Efficiency and DecarbonizationAnd Geothermal Technologies Office.