Utility and Grid Operator Technical Assistance

The Utility and Grid Operator Technical Assistance activities offered by NREL are designed to disseminate technical solutions that accelerate clean energy deployment in communities nationwide.

The no-cost Utility and Grid Operator Technical Assistance program is provided on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, NREL, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Pathways

Technical assistance will be available along two pathways:

  1. Key Assist provides utilities and grid operators with access to national lab facilities, such as NREL's Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) research platform, and world-class researchers. No-cost technical support between $500,000 and $1 million is available over 2 years.

    Focus areas:
    • Technical challenges related to operational architectures or specific technology configurations (may necessitate use of lab test systems/facilities)
    • Large-scale, integrated planning challenges that bring together multiple elements (e.g., building vehicle electrification with distribution system planning)

  1. Rolling technical assistance provides utilities and grid operators with up to 100 hours of subject matter expertise from NREL and other DOE labs.

    Focus areas: Load forecasting, distribution system planning, distributed energy resources, vehicle-grid integration, building electrification, transmission and distribution coordination, bulk-power planning

Eligibility

Eligible entities include:

  • Municipal utilities
  • Cooperative utilities
  • Investor-owned utilities
  • Regional transmission organizations
  • Independent system operators.

The application for the Utility and Grid Operator Technical Assistance program will open in the fall of 2024. Complete this short form to subscribe for updates.

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