Cooperative Agreements to USA IHEs, Nonprofits, For-Profits, and Agencies for Research to Integrate Clean Energy into Existing Grids

Operation and Planning Tools for Inverter-Based Resource Management and Availability for Future Power Systems (OPTIMA)

Agency

Federal

GrantWatch ID#

208946

Funding Source

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO)

CFDA Number: 81.087

Funding or PIN Number: DE-FOA-0003034

Geographic Focus

All USA
USA Territories: American Samoa (USA); Guam (USA); Puerto Rico (USA); Virgin Islands (USA); Northern Mariana Islands (USA);

Important Dates

LOI Date: 06/12/23
Deadline: 09/14/23 5:00 PM ET

Grant Description

Cooperative agreements to USA and territories IHEs, nonprofit and for-profit entities, and government agencies for research and development projects to integrate clean energy into the power grid system. Applicants are required to submit a letter of intent and complete required registrations prior to submitting a full application.

Projects funded under this FOA will address the emerging challenges and opportunities for grid planning and operation engineers and technicians arising from the power system’s transition to variable renewable energy sources and inverter-based power electronic grid interfaces. New state-of-the-art planning and operations tools will enable solar energy to be more optimally and reliably integrated and utilized within the electric power grid, providing Americans with more cheap and secure sources of clean energy.

This FOA will fund research in three (3) Topics Areas that develop technologies to address emerging challenges and enhance the benefits of VRE, IBR, and DER, including long-term planning activities and the daily operation of the grid. The new state-of-the-art planning and operations tools will enable solar energy to be more optimally utilized over time and allow it to be utilized in place of traditional generation, providing Americans with more cheap and secure sources of clean energy.

To succeed, the projects funded under this FOA will need to bring together diverse teams that include research and development partners, such as universities and national labs, industry partners, such as original equipment manufacturers and software vendors, and electric industry stakeholders, such as transmission and distribution (T&D) utilities and independent system operators. Industry partners should work with researchers in the technology development phases to ensure practical designs and then should work to create prototypes that are as close to commercialization as possible. Project teams should include electric utility and ISO partners to ensure solutions are developed to aid the grid planners and operators who will ultimately be the end users of the technologies.

The Operation and Planning Tools for Inverter-Based Resources Management and Availability for Future Power Systems (OPTIMA) FOA focuses on the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies and tools for the bulk power system in the following three topic areas:

Planning Tools for Future Power Systems.
Variability Managmenet in Grid Operations.
Rapid System Health and Risk Assessment Tools for Grid Operators.

For further details on the topic areas, see p. 16 of the FOA in Supporting Documents.

Recipient

Eligibility

Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity below), subject to any clarification in the text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility"

Additional Eligibility Criteria

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 Indian tribes.

To qualify as a domestic entity, the entity must be organized, chartered, or incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a particular state or territory of the United States; have majority domestic ownership and control; and have a physical place of business in the United States.

DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are eligible to apply for funding as a prime recipient or subrecipient.

Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are eligible to participate as a subrecipient but are not eligible to apply as a prime recipient.

Federal agencies and instrumentalities (other than DOE) are eligible to participate as a subrecipient but are not eligible to apply as a prime recipient.

In limited circumstances, EERE may approve a waiver to allow a foreign entity to participate as a prime recipient or subrecipient. A foreign entity may submit a Full Application to this FOA, but the Full Application must be accompanied by an explicit written waiver request. Likewise, if the applicant seeks to include a foreign entity as a subrecipient, the applicant must submit a separate explicit written waiver request in the Full Application for each proposed foreign subrecipient.

For further eligibility requirements, see p. 48 of the FOA in Supporting Documents.

Ineligible

Entities banned from doing business with the United States government such as entities debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participating in Federal programs are not eligible.

Non-profit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995, are not eligible to apply for funding.

Applications Not of Interest for Topic 1:
- Projects that primarily focus on electricity market design, including incentives and regulation frameworks.
- Projects that focus primarily on the development and demonstration of new grid enhancing technologies (GETs) hardware equipment, e.g., dynamic line rating (DLR) as opposed to their integration into planning software and tools.
- Projects that focus on transmission expansion planning.
- Projects that primarily focus on the forecasting of weather and climate.
- Projects that primarily focus on generation interconnection issues.
- Projects that focus on the design of distribution system operations.

Applications Not of Interest for Topic 2
- Applications that focus on developing grid stability, and system strength and inertia estimation algorithms. Relevant efforts should consider Topic 3.
- Applications that focus primarily on the development of flexibility technologies, e.g., energy storage, GETs, and power flow controllers, as opposed to their integration into operations software and tools.
- Applications that primarily focus on generation interconnection issues.
- Applications that focus on solutions for distribution system operations.
- Applications that focus on electricity market designs.

Applications Not of Interest for Topic 3:
- Applications that do not include impacts of IBR.
- Applications that primarily focus on sensor development.
- Application that only focus on cybersecurity.

For funding restrictions, see p. 72 of the FOA in Supporting Documents.

Pre-Proposal Conference

EERE will conduct one informational webinar during the FOA process. It will be held after the initial FOA release but before the due date for Concept Papers.

Attendance is not mandatory and will not positively or negatively impact the overall review of any applicant submissions. As the webinar will be open to all applicants who wish to participate, applicants should refrain from asking questions or communicating information that would reveal confidential and/or proprietary information specific to their project. Specific dates for the webinar can be found on the cover page of the FOA.

Thursday, May 4, 2023, 3:00pm-4:00pm ET

To attend this event, you must pre-register by following this link: https://doe.webex.com/weblink/register/r24f6b53c6d71c03a6ec449c77cd8f246

Pre-Application Information

Timeline:
- FOA Issue Date: 4/20/2023
- Informational Webinar: 5/4/2023, 3:00pm ET
- Submission Deadline for Concept Papers: 6/12/2023, 5:00pm ET
- Submission Deadline for Full Applications: 9/14/2023, 5:00pm ET
- Expected Submission Deadline for Replies to Reviewer Comments: 9/13/2023, 5:00pm ET
- Expected Date for EERE Selection Notifications: December, 2023
- Expected Timeframe for Award Negotiations: December, 2023 – April, 2024

The application process includes multiple phases: a Concept Paper phase, and a Full Application phase. Only applicants who have submitted an eligible Concept Paper will be eligible to submit a Full Application.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their Concept Papers, Full Applications, and Replies to Reviewer Comments at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline. Under normal conditions (i.e., at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline), applicants should allow at least 1 hour to submit a Concept Paper, Full Application, or Reply to Reviewer Comments. Once the Concept Paper, Full Application, or Reply to Reviewer Comments is submitted in EERE eXCHANGE, applicants may revise or update that submission until the expiration of the applicable deadline. If changes are made to any of these documents, the applicant must resubmit the Concept Paper, Full Application, or Reply to Reviewer Comments before the applicable deadline.

EERE will accept only new applications under this FOA. EERE will not consider applications for renewals of existing EERE-funded awards through this FOA.

An entity may submit more than one Full Application to this FOA, provided that each application describes a unique, scientifically distinct project.

There are several one-time actions before submitting an application in response to this FOA, and it is vital that applicants address these items as soon as possible. Some may take several weeks, and failure to complete them could interfere with an applicant’s ability to apply to this FOA, or to meet the negotiation deadlines and receive an award if the application is selected. These requirements are as follows:
1. EERE Exchange. Register and create an account on EERE Exchange at https://eereExchange.energy.gov.
2. System for Award Management. Register with the SAM at https://www.sam.gov.
3. FedConnect. Register in FedConnect at https://www.fedconnect.net.
4. Grants.gov. Register in Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) to receive automatic updates when Amendments to this FOA are posted.

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

View this opportunity on Grants.gov: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=347647

Additional Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding:

$30,000,000

Number of Grants

EERE anticipates making approximately 9-13 awards under this FOA.

Estimated Size of Grant

Topic Area 1: $2,000,000-$2,500,000
Topic Area 2: $2,500,000-$3,500,000
Topic Area 3: $2,500,000-$4,000,000

Term of Contract

EERE anticipates making awards that will run up to 36 months in length, comprised of one or more budget periods. Project continuation will be contingent upon several elements, including satisfactory performance and Go/No-Go decision.

Contact Information

Apply online: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/SubmissionDetailsEdit.aspx?foaId=00bbd52e-b9bb-4bda-af02-2a96fb672e4b

Contact information:
- SETO.OPTIMA.FOA@ee.doe.gov, for questions related to the content of the FOA.
- EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov, for questions related to the registration process and use of the EERE eXCHANGE website.

Cooperative Agreements to USA IHEs, Nonprofits, For-Profits, and Agencies for Research to Integrate Clean Energy into Existing Grids

Operation and Planning Tools for Inverter-Based Resource Management and Availability for Future Power Systems (OPTIMA)

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