FOA Number: DE-FOA-0003136
FOA Amount: Up to $65 million
Concept Papers (Required) Due: Aug. 20, 2024, at 5 p.m. E.T.
Full Applications Due: Oct. 10, 2024, at 5 p.m. E.T.
On July 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the Connected Communities 2.0 funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to drive innovation to manage growing building, transportation, and industrial electric loads on the grid. This FOA seeks to validate grid-edge technology innovations in real-world situations and provide new tools for utilities, grid planners and operators, automakers and smart charge management service providers, and the communities they serve.
Connected Communities 2.0 builds on successes and lessons learned from the first cohort of Connected Communities, launched in 2020, and DOE’s original smart neighborhoods in Georgia and Alabama. The first Connected Communities projects focused on integration of distributed energy resources to support a more variable grid. The 2.0 version aims to foster development of new technologies to ensure that the grid is flexible, resilient, and sized correctly to accommodate increasing loads from vehicle charging, data centers, and building and industrial electrification.
Objectives
Connected Communities 2.0 has three main goals:
- Demonstrate how smart and coordinated management of EVs and other distributed energy resources can together provide grid support, reduce system costs, and encourage customer adoption.
- Demonstrate approaches to smart change management, grid-edge technical measures, and innovative planning strategies as valid methods towards right sizing investments in the distribution system.
- Demonstrate approaches towards improved resilience for communities, end-use customers, and the overall grid.
To those ends, this FOA targets four areas for research, development, and demonstration:
- Field validation of grid-edge technical measures that reduce the necessary level of investment into distribution infrastructure.
- Field validation of smart charge management for EVs that can be deployed at large scale.
- Demonstration of increased customer benefits and grid resilience using grid edge technical measures, both in front of and behind the meter.
- Data collection to assess system readiness for new loads.
Topic Areas
This FOA has two major topical areas:
- Topic 1 – Connected Communities 2.0, focused on grid-edge technical measures in buildings, industry, and transportation to prepare the electric grid for new loads and improve customer benefits and grid resilience; and
- Topic 1a – Smart Charge Management, focused on various unique urban, suburban, and rural use cases to build confidence in it as an effective approach for electric vehicles to provide flexibility and value to the electric grid.
Teaming Partner List
DOE is compiling a Teaming Partner List to facilitate the formation of project teams for this FOA. The Teaming Partner List allows organizations that may wish to participate on a project to express their interest to other applicants and explore potential partnerships. The Teaming Partner List is available on EERE eXCHANGE and will be regularly updated to reflect new teaming partners who provide their organization’s information.
Key Dates (Subject To Change)
| FOA Issue Date | July 22, 2024 |
| Informational Webinar | July 29, 2024, 10:30 a.m. ET |
| Submission Deadline for Concept Papers (Required) | Aug. 20, 2024, 5 p.m. ET |
| Submission Deadline for Full Applications | Oct. 10, 2024, 5 p.m. ET |
| Expected Date for EERE Selection Notifications | Winter 2025 |
| Expected Timeframe for Award Negotiations | Spring 2025 |
Additional Information
- Read the full FOA in EERE eXCHANGE.
- Register for the informational webinar on Monday, July 29, 2024, 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m. ET. This will provide potential applicants with an overview of the FOA objectives, the applicant submission process, and the evaluation and selection process.
- Email questions about this FOA to [email protected].
- Sign up for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) funding emails and EERE news and the Weekly Jolt newsletter to get notified of new EERE funding opportunities and stay up to date on EERE news.