Solar and Wind Grid Services and Reliability Demonstration

Federal Agency

Sub-Department

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)

Purpose

To demonstrate the capability of large-scale solar and wind plants to provide grid services to the bulk power grid and improve grid reliability.

Applicant and/or Project Eligibility Requirements

Wind and solar energy replace fossil fuels as a source of electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the process. Reliability improvements will improve not only the provision of electricity, but also the perception of wind and solar as dependable power sources.

Decarbonization Considerations

Reliability improvements will complement the deployment of clean energy sources. Projects in this funding opportunity will support the development of controls and methods for inverter-based resources like solar and wind to provide the same grid services as traditional generation. The research activities resulting from this funding opportunity will help increase the reliability of energy systems, which will help meet the Biden administration’s goals for achieving a decarbonized electricity sector by 2035.

Equity Considerations

See the "Equity Design Considerations for Federal Funding" for general considerations and additional sector-based resources: https://cityrenewables.org/resources/equity-design-considerations-for-federal-funding/

Helpful Tips

Under all topics, teams that include multiple partners are preferred over applications that include a single organization. Teams are encouraged to include representation from diverse entities, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) or Minority Serving Institutions (MSI), or through linkages with Opportunity Zones, and well as with relevant labor unions where appropriate.

Other Notes

This program has two Topic Areas: (1) Wind and Solar Grid Services Design, Implementation, and Demonstration - To develop full-scale demonstration projects that seamlessly integrate renewable generation with other large-scale or aggregated distributed energy resource (DER) technologies to provide ancillary (grid) services and improve reliability. (2) Protection of Bulk Power Systems with High Contribution from Inverter-Based Resources - To develop a better understanding of how protection systems will operate under very-high IBR scenarios through advancements in modeling and simulation cap. See past awardees here: https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/solar-and-wind-grid-services-and-reliability-demonstration-funding-program