Government Financing Update – May 4, 2010

U.S. Department of Energy
National Energy Technology Laboratory

Smart Grid Research, Development, and Demonstration

Application Deadline
The application is due on June 22, 2010 at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. Please note: Important information re registration and other pre-submission requirements are included in the funding opportunity announcement (FOA). Please refer to the FOA for details.

Anticipated Notice of Selection: July 2010

Anticipated Award Date: September 2010

Total Funding Available: Approximately $30,000,000 is expected to be available for new awards under this FOA

Award Instrument: Cooperative agreements

Program Description
Through this FOA the Department of Energy seeks projects that will support achievement of the following Smart Grid 2030 targets:

• 20% reduction in the nation's peak electricity demand;
• 100% electricity supply availability to serve all critical loads at all times, and a range of reliability services for other loads; 
• 40% improvement in system efficiency and asset utilization to achieve a load factor of 70%; and
• 20% of the nation's electricity capacity derived from distributed and renewable energy sources (200 GW). 

Areas of Interest
Areas of interest for this FOA include the following:

Area of Interest 1 – Integrated Distribution Management Systems (DMS) for Distribution Automation: This area of interest will support the development of an integrated DMS that will enhance capabilities of distribution automation in anticipating and responding to disturbances or malicious attacks while continually optimizing its own performance, as well as in dispatching distributed energy resources (DER) and reconfiguring power flow to isolate faulted or damaged equipment.

Area of Interest 2 – Advanced Sensing, Monitoring, and Control Technologies for Enhanced Asset Utilization and Grid Reliability: This area of interest will support the achievement of Smart Grid 2030 targets of operational/system efficiency and grid reliability/resilience. Projects under this area of interest should address either of the following subtopics or a combination of each: (2A) Prognostic Health Management (PHM), involving PHM technologies that increase the reliability of the grid and the lifetime of grid assets; and/or (2B) Distribution System Sensing, involving distribution sensors that improve the detection and isolation of system power quality issues, faults and equipment failures.

Area of Interest 3 – Voltage Regulation and Overvoltage Protection for High Penetration of Renewable Generation: This area of interest will support the achievement of Smart Grid 2030 target of high penetration levels of distributed and renewable energy generation. Projects under this area of interest should address either of the following subtopics or a combination of each: (3A) Voltage Regulation, involving the voltage regulation aspects of distribution system designed to identify the best approaches to voltage control for accommodating high penetration of renewable generation; and/or (3B) Overvoltage Protection, involving the development of advanced network control and protection technologies that work safely, efficiently, and reliably in the presence of high-penetration DER and changing network conditions.

Eligibility Requirements
All types of entities are eligible to apply, except other federal agencies, Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) contractors, and nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995.

Cost Sharing
The cost share must be at least 20% of the total allowable costs for research and development projects and at least 50% of the total allowable costs for demonstration projects and must come from non-federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law.

General Information