This FOA will support multi-year research, development and demonstration (RD&D) of tools and technologies to enhance the reliability and resilience of the nation’s energy infrastructure. Moreover, this Announcement is in pursuit of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 and 2023 (FY22 and FY23 respectively) Congressional Appropriations which stipulate “coordinated research and development of microgrid-related technologies, with a focus on underserved and Indigenous communities. The research shall focus on development and deployment/demonstration of advanced microgrid-enabling technologies, including renewable generation and storage systems, multi-nodal small-scale high-voltage direct current, advanced demand-side management strategies, and microgrid control systems. The research will aim to provide replicable microgrid solutions to address the broad array of challenges facing underserved and Indigenous communities in remote and islanded regions throughout the United States.”
The microgrid solutions sought are in three areas of interest (AOI) as further defined in Section C. AOI-1 seeks development of modular microgrid systems with standardized functionalities, which have broad replicability for remote and islanded communities and will significantly reduce microgrid costs and project times. AOI-2 seeks development of multi-port medium voltage direct current (MVDC) converters, an enabling technology solution to connect clean energy resources and microgrids in two or more communities, which will enable sharing energy resources and loads for optimized performance to maximize their overall value, beyond the sum of what the individual systems can deliver. Recognizing that skilled human resources are required to develop, deploy, and operate new microgrid solutions, AOI-3 seeks establishment of regional initiatives that focus on human and technical capacity building in underserved and Indigenous communities. Each microgrid system under this FOA should range from 100 kilowatts (kW) to 10 megawatts (MW) of aggregated generation capacity, and support reaching the DOE targets as defined in Section C.
Deadline: Sep. 15, 2023
Area of Interest 1 (AOI-1) titled Modular Microgrid Systems with Standardized Control/Communication Functionalities for a Range of System Sizes and Renewable Contributions
Area of Interest 2 (AOI-2) titled Multi-port Medium Voltage DC (MVDC) Converter R&D for Integration of Microgrids and Clean Energy
Area of Interest 3 (AOI-3) titled Regional Initiatives to Support Microgrid Deployments within Underserved and Indigenous Communities
The proposed prime recipient and subrecipient(s) must be domestic entities. The following types of domestic entities are eligible to participate as a prime recipient or subrecipient of this FOA: 1. Institutions of higher education; 2. For-profit entities; 3. Non-profit entities; and 4. State and local governmental entities, and tribal nations.
Applicants may submit multiple applications under each area of interest of this FOA; HOWEVER, applicants may not submit duplicate applications under multiple areas of interest. Put simply, each submitted application should be distinct and tailored to the specific area of interest.