US commits $100 million to preparing the grid for a net-zero economy

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is putting $100 million into readying the nation’s grid for the net-zero era. It announced an intent to issue multiple funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) for field demonstrations and other research to support “better planning and operation” of the electric grid.

The US transition to a decarbonised, clean energy future requires transformations across the electricity system. This includes at the ‘grid edge’ where buildings, industry, transportation, renewables, storage, and the electric grid come together.

Readying US infrastructure

The DOE investment will also help optimise systems with grid-connected buildings and vehicles powered by clean, distributed energy generation and show these advanced technologies are reliable, secure, and ready to support a clean energy economy. The efforts will help reduce grid capacity barriers to clean energy deployment, explained EERE Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Marootian.

He commented: “To deploy clean energy faster, we need to bring more local, renewable sources onto the grid. Better built environments will make clean energy more affordable and accessible, and create a more secure, resilient energy future for the American people.”

Grid evolution

America’s electric grid is moving from a system where power flows entirely from big generators to end users, to one that is ‘bidirectional’, enabling a two-way flow of electricity from end user to the grid and back.

Technologies such as rooftop solar, electric vehicles, and storage can increase grid resiliency, but also add complexity and new challenges to the system.

Projects selected under the FOAs will strengthen the integration of these resources, support grid planning and operation, and enable widespread and equitable deployment of these technologies.

Waste-to-energy

Also on Thursday, DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office and Vehicle Technologies Office announced up to $17.5 million in federal funding to develop cost-effective strategies for communities to sustainably manage and recover potential clean energy sources from waste streams.

The Waste Analysis and Strategies for Transportation End-Uses FOA will support municipalities and transit authorities with waste-to-energy solutions for converting organic waste into feedstocks for various clean transportation fuel products.