FundOpp_DE-FOA-0003127.pdf

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FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT

Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE)

Grid-Enhancing Data Analytics Demonstrations for

Operations, Monitoring and Control Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number:

DE-FOA-0003127

FOA Type: Initial

Assistance Listing Number: 81.122

FOA Issue Date: December 12, 2023 Submission Deadline for Concept Papers: January 23, 2024/5:00PM ET* Submission Deadline for Full Applications: April 4, 2024/5:00 PM ET*

Expected Date for Concept Paper Notifications: March 7, 2024 Expected Date for Selection Notifications: June 21, 2024 Expected Date for Award: September 30, 2024

*Applicants who do not submit a concept paper cannot submit a Full Application.

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Registration Requirements

There are several one-time actions that must be completed before submitting an application in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) (e.g., register with the System for Award Management (SAM), obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number, register with Grants.gov, and register with FedConnect.net to submit questions). 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.

SAM Applicants must register with SAM at https://www.sam.gov/ prior to submitting an application in response to this FOA (unless the applicant is exempt from those requirements under 2 CFR 25.110). Designating an Electronic Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC) and obtaining a special password called an MPIN are important steps in SAM registration. Failure to register with SAM will prevent your organization from applying through Grants.gov. The applicant must maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or application under consideration. More information about SAM registration for applicants is found at:

https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=gsafsd_kb_articles&sys_id=650d493e1bab7c105 465eaccac4bcbcb.

NOTE: If clicking the SAM links do not work, please copy and paste the link into your browser.

Due to the high demand of SAM registrations and UEI requests, entity legal business name and address validations are taking longer than expected to process. Entities should start the SAM and UEI registration process as soon as possible. If entities have technical difficulties with the SAM registration or UEI validation process they should utilize the HELP feature on SAM.gov. SAM.gov will work entity service tickets in the order in which they are received and asks that entities not create multiple service tickets for the same request or technical issue. Additional entity validation resources can be found here: GSAFSD Tier 0 Knowledge Base - Validating your Entity.

UEI Applicants must obtain an UEI from the SAM to uniquely identify the entity. The

UEI is available in the SAM entity registration record.

NOTE: Subawardees/subrecipients at all tiers must also obtain an UEI from the SAM and provide the UEI to the Prime Recipient before the subaward can be issued.

Grants.gov - Applicants must register with Grants.gov and set up your WorkSpace. You cannot submit an application through Grants.gov unless you are registered. Please read the registration requirements carefully and start the process immediately.

https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=gsafsd_kb_articles&sys_id=650d493e1bab7c105465eaccac4bcbcb https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=gsafsd_kb_articles&sys_id=650d493e1bab7c105465eaccac4bcbcb https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0058422&sys_kb_id=1b5f22581b2115102fe5ed7ae54bcb4e&spa=1

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1) The Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must register at:

https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/OrcRegister

2) An email is sent to the E-Business (E-Biz) POC listed in SAM. The E-Biz POC must approve the AOR registration using their MPIN from their SAM registration.

More information about the registration steps for Grants.gov is provided at:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html

In addition:

o Add a Profile to a Grants.gov Account: A profile in Grants.gov corresponds to a single applicant organization the user represents (i.e., an applicant) or an individual applicant. If you work for or consult with multiple organizations and have a profile for each, you may log in to one Grants.gov account to access all of your grant applications. To add an organizational profile to your Grants.gov account, enter the UEI for the organization in the UEI field while adding a profile.

For more detailed instructions about creating a profile on Grants.gov, refer to:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/add-profile.html o EBiz POC Authorized Profile Roles: After you register with Grants.gov and create an Organization Applicant Profile, the organization applicant's request for Grants.gov roles and access is sent to the EBiz POC. The EBiz POC will then log in to Grants.gov and authorize the appropriate roles, which may include the AOR role, thereby giving you permission to complete and submit applications on behalf of the organization. You will be able to submit your application online any time after you have been assigned the AOR role.

NOTE: When applications are submitted through Grants.gov, the name of the organization applicant with the AOR role that submitted the application is inserted into the signature line of the application, serving as the electronic signature. The EBiz POC must authorize people who are able to make legally binding commitments on behalf of the organization as a user with the AOR role;

this step is often missed and it is crucial for valid and timely submissions.

For more detailed instructions about creating a profile on Grants.gov, refer to:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/authorize-roles.html

To track your role request, refer to:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/track-role-status.html

Questions relating to the registration process, system requirements, or how an application form works must be directed to Grants.gov at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.

https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/OrcRegister https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/add-profile.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/authorize-roles.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/authorize-roles.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/track-role-status.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/track-role-status.html mailto:support@grants.gov

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FedConnect.net - Applicants must register with FedConnect to submit questions.

FedConnect website: www.fedconnect.net.

See Section IV for Application and Submission Information (including how to create a WorkSpace).

http://www.fedconnect.net/

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Table of Contents I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Authorizing Statutes B. Background/Description

i. Background and Purpose C. Objectives/Areas of Interest D. Applications Specifically Not of Interest

II. Award Information

A. Type of Application B. Type of Award Instrument C. Award Overview

III. Eligibility Information

A. Cost Sharing

i. Legal Responsibility

ii. Cost Share Allocation

iii. Cost Share Types and Allowability

iv. Cost Share Verification

v. Cost Share Contributions by FFRDCs

B. Compliance Criteria C. Responsiveness Criteria D. Number of Submittals Eligible for Review E. Questions Regarding Eligibility

IV. Application and Submission Information

F. Form and Content Requirements G. Concept Papers H. Full Applications I. Post Selection Information Requests (April 2023) J. Submission Dates and Times K. Intergovernmental Review L. Other Submission and Registration Requirements M. Funding Restrictions (April 2023) N. Pre-Award Costs O. Pre-Award Costs Related to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Requirements P. Performance of Work in the United States (Foreign Work Waiver) (April 2023) Q. Foreign Travel R. Equipment and Supplies S. Buy America Requirements for Infrastructure Projects (April 2023)

V. Application Review Information

A. Review Criteria

i. Compliance/Responsiveness Review

ii. Concept Paper Review

iii. Full Application Merit Review Criteria

B. Other Selection Factors

i. Program Policy Factors

C. Other Review Requirements

i. Risk Assessment (May 2023)

ii. Recipient Responsibility and Qualifications (May 2023)

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D. Review and Selection Process

i. Merit Review

ii. Selection

iii. Discussions and Award

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Notices

i. Ineligible Submissions

ii. Concept Paper Notifications

iii. Full Application Notifications

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

i. Award Administrative Requirements

ii. Unique Entity Identifier Requirements and System for Award Management (April 2023)

iii. Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Financing Statements

iv. Foreign National Participation (April 2023)

v. Export Control (April 2023)

vi. Statement of Federal Stewardship

vii. Statement of Substantial Involvement

viii. Environmental Review in Accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

ix. Conference Spending

x. Indemnity

xi. Go/No-Go Review

xii. Interim Conflict of Interest Policy for Financial Assistance

xiii. Participants and Collaborating Organizations

xiv. Current and Pending Support

xv. Fraud, Waste and Abuse (April 2023)

xvi. Human Subjects Research (April 2023)

xvii. Flood Resilience (April 2023)

C. Reporting

i. Reporting Requirements

ii. Subaward and Executive Reporting

D. Applicant Representations and Certifications

i. Lobbying Restrictions

ii. Nondisclosure and Confidentiality Agreements Representations

iii. Corporate Felony Convictions and Tax Liabilities Representations (March 2014)

VII. Questions/Agency Contacts

A. Questions B. Agency Contact C. Modifications D. Government Right to Reject or Negotiate E. Commitment of Public Funds F. Treatment of Application Information (April 2023) G. Evaluation and Administration by Non-Federal Personnel H. Intellectual Property Developed Under This Program (September 2021) I. Program Covered Under Special Protected Data Statute (December 2014) J. Notice Regarding Eligible/Ineligible Activities K. Notice of Right to Conduct a Review of Financial Capability L. Notice of Potential Disclosure Under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) M. Requirement for Full and Complete Disclosure N. Retention of Submissions O. Protected Personally Identifiable Information P. Annual Compliance Audits

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Q. Accounting System R. Indirect Rates S. Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (April 2023) .. 86 T. Prohibition Related to Foreign Government-Sponsored Talent Recruitment Programs (April 2023)

i. Prohibition

ii. Definitions

U. Implementation of Executive Order 13798, Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty (November 2020)

V. Affirmative Action and Pay Transparency Requirements W. Foreign Collaboration Considerations

VIII. Appendices

Appendix A – Cost Share Information

Appendix B – Waiver Requests: Foreign Entity Participation and Performance of Work in the United States

Appendix C – Required Use of American Iron, Steel, Manufactured Products, and Construction Materials - Buy America Requirements for Infrastructure Projects (April 2023)

Appendix D – Statement of Project Objectives Template

Appendix E – Project Management Plan Template

Appendix F – Data Management Plan

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I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Authorizing Statutes

i. The programmatic authorizing statutes are:

• Public Law (PL) 95-91, DOE Organization Act

• Section 925(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58) as amended by the Energy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-260) (42 U.S.C. 16215)

Awards made under this announcement will fall under the purview of 2 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200 as amended by 2 CFR Part 910.

B. Background/Description

i. Background and Purpose

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), on behalf of the Office of Electricity (OE), is releasing a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to solicit applications to enhance grid reliability and resilience with demonstrations of sensors and advanced analytics to develop the grid of the future.

This FOA aims to build on current best practices, standards, and frameworks to advance the state of the art in utility data analytics. Technologies developed through this FOA should leverage information in the potential for rapid deployment and widescale deployment of these new technologies into the power sector.

The power system is changing due to electrification, fossil generation retirements, increases in inverter-based resources (IBR)s and distributed energy resources.

Data and analytics using power system sensors are instrumental in maintaining and improving the reliability, affordability, and resilience of the grid in this unprecedented time of change. However, to make use of raw power sector data, contextual information is required to fuel data analytics that can provide the information to decision makers.

The electric industry sector is facing an “explosion” of data coming from a variety of sources. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) as well as new types of sensors with fast-streaming data sets (such as phasor measurement units) have https://www.congress.gov/bill/95th-congress/senate-bill/826 https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjO8qeaxICDAxXQjYkEHQ_aBCoQFnoECBUQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.govinfo.gov%2Fcontent%2Fpkg%2FPLAW-109publ58%2Fpdf%2FPLAW-109publ58.pdf&usg=AOvVaw35-1Seaf_l0HTDoFYay3k0&opi=89978449 https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjO8qeaxICDAxXQjYkEHQ_aBCoQFnoECBUQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.govinfo.gov%2Fcontent%2Fpkg%2FPLAW-109publ58%2Fpdf%2FPLAW-109publ58.pdf&usg=AOvVaw35-1Seaf_l0HTDoFYay3k0&opi=89978449

DE-FOA-0003127 Page 9 of 126 been deployed – but data is not useful unless it can be used to create actionable information for decision makers. Traditional methods of data acquisition, labeling, use, and storage in utilities are insufficient to meet the growing need for actionable information from data. For example, data sharing within utilities is often siloed into different uses (planning, protection, operations, and markets), making management of data sets and models expensive and time consuming.

Interoperability of data sets from across these different areas of the electricity utility business can provide the contextual information required for new tool development. Resulting tools need to incorporate best practices for human factors, decision science, and cognitive science as much as physics and mathematical methods to be effective.

- New sensors with higher fidelity, are important for understanding and unlocking the potential of inverter-based resources to impact power quality.

For example, inverter-based resources can result in new types of system oscillations, and changes to fault-induced delayed voltage recovery (FIDVR) that need to be accounted for in system operations and planning and interconnection standards/procedures.

- Real system data is required to update and validate models that help drive decisions for system planning and operations.

- Tools and applications that leverage AMI and other sources of data can create new business opportunities for utilities, help provide insights for operations and planning, and manage market-driven change.

- Sensor data is important for developing procedures and control strategies for wildfires, heatwaves, cold snaps, and other challenging conditions facing the power sector.

System visibility is key to developing robust controls and decision strategies.

Traditionally, utilities owned the infrastructure that created all the data they needed to operate the power system, but this may no longer be possible. With the addition of DERs, EVs, and microgrids, utilities may be required to work with outside organizations to obtain the data they need to insure reliability and resilience. New tools are needed that allow electric sector stakeholders to capitalize on large data sets, both the ones they create and own and data from other sources (like weather data, building data, transportation data, etc), to improve reliability and resilience and meet the changing system dynamics from renewable integration.

Data Analytics demonstrations that involve direct partnerships with data providers and power sector utilities ensures that the sensor data is useful for the humans that operate, maintain and plan the power system. Information derived from sensor data should be clear and the tools developed intuitive enough to limit the need for user training.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity (OE) is committed to

DE-FOA-0003127 Page 10 of 126 accelerating research, development, and demonstration of new technologies and tools within the electricity sector to advance reliability, resilience, and affordable operation of the power system. OE has a history of supporting this type of work through previous funding opportunities, such as FOA 1861 (Big Data Synchrophasor Analysis | Department of Energy). This past fall, OE showcased ongoing work in this space with the Power Sector Transmission & Distribution Data and Information Webinar Series that culminated in an in-person workshop. In those webinars and at the workshop OE highlighted state of the art research and development in:

- Transmission and Distribution (T&D) information sharing

- Cross-sector and Open data Sharing and Risks

- Sensors Systems and Platforms

- Sensor Data and Device Research

The webinars culminated in a summit in Washington DC, where participants discussed the importance of rapid advancement in the space of utility data analytics. Some key areas discussed where:

- Data at the Distribution and Consumer Edge

- Forecasting and Operational Analytics

- Data for Controls and Operations

- Data for T&D Coordination

The summit participants discussed the role of the standards, such as the common information model (CIM) and GridApps-D, for interoperability and to mitigate technology risks and costs associated with maintaining data sets for a variety of analytical users. It was clear from the discussions that there needs to be a shift from investment in data procurement and sensors for a single purpose, to investment in platforms and practices that allow for existing electricity system sensors to be used for multiple applications and purposes both within an organization and across organizations.

C. Objectives/Areas of Interest

The objective of this FOA is to enhance grid reliability and resilience through R&D with demonstrations of analytics that utilize power system sensors to develop tools for the grid of the future. Demonstrations with power sector utilities is required since this will help ensure that the analytics can meaningfully support power sector system planning and operations. Projects that build on/implement industry standards like CIM and existing platforms like GridAPPs-D are encouraged to help facilitate scalability, interoperability, and relevance of the work to the broader electricity industry. Primary use of synthetic data or model generated data do not meet this FOA objective.

https://www.energy.gov/oe/big-data-synchrophasor-analysis https://www.energy.gov/oe/big-data-synchrophasor-analysis https://www.pnnl.gov/events/power-sector-transmission-distribution-data-and-information-webinar-series https://www.pnnl.gov/events/power-sector-transmission-distribution-data-and-information-webinar-series https://www.dmtf.org/standards/cim https://www.dmtf.org/standards/cim https://gridapps-d.org/ https://www.dmtf.org/standards/cim https://gridapps-d.org/

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An applicant’s project team should, at a minimum, include (1) an electric utility or a system operating entity serving the area with the field demonstration, (2) a system planner relevant to the service territory of the demonstration, (3) a domestic technology product provider, and (4) a domestic technology developer.

It is encouraged that teams also include universities and community organizations (such as municipalities, tribes, school districts, etc.).

The Overall FOA objectives are:

• A field demonstration of a relevant sensor utilization/data analytics technology – this should be no less than 20% of the project scope.

• Design and validate case studies that consider both rural and urban uses of sensor data for enhancing the resilience and reliability of the grid.

• Develop scalable methodologies for enabling distribution system protection using senor data.

• Develop novel methods for harnessing big data to enable automated event detection and classification.

• Establish innovative approaches for generating and recording contextual information associated with historical data to enable automated data labeling.

• Develop new approaches for capturing contextual information associated with data generated by grid sensors.

• Develop rigorously validated approaches to enable uncertainty-informed load forecasting with variable (moving) prediction time horizons as well as computationally efficient online learning; a focus on extreme weather and climate conditions is encouraged.

• Develop technology that integrates human factors and/or cognitive science considerations to enhance effectiveness of decision support systems related sensor data analytics.

• Develop uncertainty-informed data-integration methods to enable integrating data from multiple sensors and sources with variable degrees of data veracity.

Projects should have a distribution focus, but projects that look at both transmission and distribution are encouraged.

There is one area of interest for this FOA: Sensor Data Analytics Demonstrations

This FOA’s single area of interest will be Sensor Data Analytics Demonstrations for system monitoring and control. Projects should support at least one of the following:

1. Demonstration of applications utilizing existing AMI data

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2. Demonstration utilizing high fidelity synchronized measurement for grid stability monitoring and control

3. Demonstration of applications utilizing mixes of different sensors for improving grid resilience, security, and safety leveraging commercial off-the-shelf sensors

Demonstration of applications utilizing existing AMI data could include, but is not limited to:

• Demonstration of AMI data analysis tools for event detection that have robust data cleaning, quality control, and processing methods, and supporting tools.

• Develop and validate uses of AMI data for utility business, operations, and planning purposes. For example, using AMI load data to improve load modeling and forecasting for operations.

• Study of historical AMI data to detect load changes over time and develop methods for automatically update load models, asset health assessments, etc.

• Explore detection and study of load changes on the grid from new resources, IBRs, and changes to system power flow.

• Determine limits and tradeoffs for sensor placement, number, and visibility. Understand how visibility of the system changes with fewer, higher fidelity sensors and the associated tradeoffs.

• Collect sharable data on methods and value of data analysis utilizing AMI data.

• Develop tools that can use higher fidelity data (such as PMUs or other synchronized measurement) to improve data quality assurance for AMI data

Demonstration utilizing high fidelity synchronized measurement for grid stability monitoring and control could include, but is not limited to:

• Demonstrate and validate uses for high fidelity data synchronized measurement for power systems operations.

• Study of ambient data to identify new types of information for grid monitoring, maintenance, and control.

• Use of historical sensor data sets and event logs to create automated tools for signature identification that have automated processes for improving over time.

• Explore detection and study of dynamic changes on the grid from new resources, power electronics, IBRs, and changes to system inertia.

• Study impact of changes to short circuit level and FIDVR so that information can be used to improve and validate system models.

• Collect sharable data on methods and value of data analysis utilizing high fidelity data.

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Demonstration of applications utilizing mixes of different sensors could include, but is not limited to:

• Determine limits and tradeoffs for sensor number, type, locations, and mobility.

• Develop tools that can use limited amounts of high-fidelity data to improve data quality assurance for lower fidelity grid data.

• Develop remote infrastructure monitoring for informing maintenance and control.

• Improve decision making around fire mitigation and prevention, heatwave preparedness, and other climate related reliability events.

• Incorporate new sensing technologies that identify physical security threats and improve technician and inspection safety or improve detection of physical access enabled cybersecurity attacks.

• Identify environmental hazard.

Projects should have a distribution focus but projects that include both transmission and distribution are encouraged.

Total federal funding of $7.0M will be available to research and development (R&D) and demonstrations tasks. Projects must include an R&D phase and a demonstration phase and must break out funding allocated to each. Applicant organization(s) must provide 20% cost share for the R&D phase and 50% cost share for the demonstration phase. Projects should culminate in a field demonstration – the demonstration portion of the project should be no less than 20% of the total project scope.

D. Applications Specifically Not of Interest

The following types of applications will be deemed nonresponsive and will not be reviewed or considered (See Section III, Eligibility Information; Responsiveness Criteria):

• Submissions that fall outside the technical parameters specified in

Section I, “Funding Opportunity Description; Areas of Interest” of the

FOA.

• Submissions for proposed technologies that are not based on sound scientific principles (e.g., violates the laws of thermodynamics).

• Projects that rely solely on “synthetic” or model generated data.

• Projects that are not focused both on R&D and Demonstration tasks.

• Submissions for proposed technologies that are not based on sound scientific principles (e.g., violates the laws of thermodynamics).

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• Submissions for basic research aimed solely at discovery and/or fundamental knowledge generation.

• Submissions for large-scale demonstration projects of existing technologies.

• Submissions for proposed technologies that represent incremental improvements to existing technologies.

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II. Award Information

A. Type of Application

DOE will accept only new applications under this announcement.

B. Type of Award Instrument

Cooperative Agreements DOE anticipates awarding cooperative agreements under this FOA (See Section VI, “Award Administration Information; Statement of Substantial Involvement”).

Cooperative Agreements that result from this FOA will be structured to include the R&D effort as Phase I and the demonstration effort as Phase II. A go/no-go decision point will be incorporated prior to initiation of the demonstration phase (Phase II).

C. Award Overview

DOE anticipates making between four (4) and seven (7) awards.

Federal funds available for obligation through this FOA total $7 M; funding under an award will be up to $1.00M of federal funds. Award recipient cost share must be at least 20% of the total R&D phase costs and at least 50% of the demonstration phase costs.

APPLICATIONS WHICH EXCEED THE “MAXIMUM DOE SHARE OF AWARD”

SPECIFIED ABOVE WILL BE CONSIDERED NONCOMPLIANT (SEE SECTION III,

“ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION; COMPLIANCE CRITERIA”). DOE WILL NOT REVIEW

OR CONSIDER NONCOMPLIANT APPLICATIONS.

Funding for all awards and future budget periods are contingent upon the availability of funds appropriated by Congress for the purpose of this program and the availability of future-year budget authority. DOE may issue one, multiple or no awards.

Cooperative Agreements that result from this FOA will be structured to include the R&D effort and demonstration effort as separate phases and will include a go/no-go decision point prior to initiation of the demonstration phase.

Accordingly, applications need to be prepared so that research and development (Phase I) and demonstration (Phase II) tasks (along with associated budget estimates) are segregated and can be readily identified. Moreover, since cost

DE-FOA-0003127 Page 16 of 126 share requirements differ for research and development (20%) and demonstration (50%) projects, the ability to distinguish between research and development and demonstration work will result in a more accurate determination of overall project cost share for non-government project team members.

Project continuation will be contingent upon satisfactory performance and go/no-go decision review. At the go/no-go decision points, DOE will evaluate project performance, project schedule adherence, meeting milestone objectives, compliance with reporting requirements, and overall contribution to the program goals and objectives. As a result of this evaluation, DOE will make a determination to continue the project, re-direct the project, or discontinue funding the project. If at the end of Phase I, DOE makes a determination that sufficient progress has not been made under the award and further demonstration is not in the best interest of additional government funding, DOE may decide not to proceed with the Phase II effort.

DOE expects to make Federal funding available for new awards under this FOA as follows:

Areas of Interest with Cost Share

Area of Interest

Estimated Federal Funding

Anticipated No. of

Awards

Anticipated Individual Award Size DOE Share

Cost Share

Total

1 $7,000,000 7 $1,000,000/71% $400,000/29% $1,400,000

Total

i. Estimated Project Period of Performance

DOE anticipates making awards with an estimated project period of performance not to exceed 3 years. All awards will have a single budget period. It is anticipated that the research and development phase would be approximately up to 2 years and the demonstration phase would be a portion or the entirety of the remaining year. The demonstration phase must be at least 20% of the project period of performance.

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III. Eligibility Information

To be considered for substantive evaluation, an applicant‘s submission must meet the criteria set forth below. If the application does not meet these eligibility requirements, it will be considered ineligible and removed from further evaluation.

A. Eligible Applicants

i. Restricted Eligibility

In accordance with 2 CFR 910.126, Competition, eligibility for award is restricted to applications that include a utility as either the prime recipient or sub-recipient in a team structure. DOE is restricting eligibility to allow for a more targeted approach that closely couples the resulting analytical RD&D projects and maximizes the impact. Utilities can provide realistic operational data so that researchers can better understand the unique challenges and develop practical solutions for broad adoption. This approach aligns with congressional direction while optimizing the effectiveness of the demonstration activities.

Eligible Applicants

The proposed project team must include a prime recipient and/or subrecipient(s) that meets the below definition of a domestic utility. Under this FOA, a utility is defined as follows:

1. Rural electric cooperatives;

2. Utilities owned by a political subdivision of a State, such as a municipally owned electric utility;

3. Utilities owned by any agency, authority, corporation, or instrumentality of one or more political subdivisions of a State;

4. Investor-owned electric utilities (IOUs)

5. Electric wire owning and/or operating entities.

To be eligible, proposed projects must include a utility with the following mandatory roles and responsibilities:

1. Any developed analytical technologies are to culminate in an integrated demonstration within a utility’s systems, such as those for planning or operations, using field data to build the confidence that the developed solutions function as expected within the utility environment. A field demonstration within the utility space is a critical key to success.

2. The utility must provide advice and guidance on the proposed solution in

DE-FOA-0003127 Page 18 of 126 terms of use, performance, scalability, integration, feasibility, and practicality in an operational setting.

ii. Individuals

U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are eligible to apply for funding as a prime recipient or subrecipient.

iii. Domestic Entities 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.

NETL is not eligible for award under this announcement and may not be proposed as a subrecipient on another entity’s application. An application that includes NETL as a prime recipient or subrecipient will be considered non-responsive.

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.

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.

Nonprofit 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.

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Foreign Entities In limited circumstances, DOE 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.

Appendix B lists the information that must be included in a foreign entity waiver request. The applicant does not have the right to appeal DOE’s decision concerning a waiver request.

A. Cost Sharing

Cost Share 20% and 50% The cost share must be at least 20% of the total allowable costs1 for research and development projects and 50% of the total allowable costs for demonstration and commercial application projects and must come from non- Federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law. The sum of the government share, including FFRDC/NL costs if applicable, and the recipient share of allowable costs equals the total allowable cost of the project. (See 2 CFR part

200.306 as amended by 2 CFR part 910.130 for the applicable cost sharing requirements.) Applications need to be prepared so that research and development (Phase I) and demonstration (Phase II) tasks (along with associated budget estimates) are segregated and can be readily identified. Moreover, since cost share requirements differ for research and development (20%) and demonstration (50%) scope, the ability to distinguish between research and development and demonstration work will result in a more accurate determination of overall project cost share.

DOE understands that projects selected under this FOA may require the use of existing data. For purposes of this FOA, DOE will consider data that is commercially available at an established market price to be an allowable cost under the project (either as DOE share or non-federal cost share) but DOE will not consider in-kind data (e.g., data, owned by an entity, that is not routinely sold commercially but is instead donated to the project and assigned a value) to be an allowable cost under the project, including as Recipient cost share.

Estimation methods used by the Recipient to assign a value to in-kind data cannot be objectively verified by DOE and therefore will not be accepted by DOE as an allowable cost under any project selected from this FOA. Consequently, 1 Total project costs is the sum of the government share, including FFRDC costs if applicable, and the recipient share of project costs.

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DOE will not recognize in-kind data costs in any resulting DOE-approved budget.

To assist applicants in calculating proper cost share amounts, DOE has included a cost share information sheet and sample cost share calculation in the “Cost Share Information” Appendix A of this FOA.

i. Legal Responsibility

Applicants will be bound by the cost share proposed in their applications and incorporated into their award.

The cost share requirement applies to the project as a whole, including work performed by members of the project team other than the Prime Recipient. The Prime Recipient is legally responsible for paying the entire cost share. The Prime Recipient’s cost share obligation is expressed in the Assistance Agreement as a static amount in U.S. dollars (cost share amount) and as a percentage of the Total Project Cost (cost share percentage). If the funding agreement is terminated prior to the end of the project period, the Prime Recipient is required to contribute at least the cost share percentage of total expenditures incurred through the date of termination.

The Prime Recipient is solely responsible for managing cost share contributions by the Project Team and enforcing cost share obligation assumed by Project Team members in subawards or related agreements.

ii. Cost Share Allocation

Each Project Team is free to determine how best to allocate the cost share requirement among the team members. The amount contributed by individual Project Team members may vary, as long as the cost share requirement for the project as a whole is met.

iii. Cost Share Types and Allowability

Every cost share contribution must be allowable under the applicable Federal cost principles, as described in Section IV, “Application and Submission Information; Funding Restrictions”. In addition, cost share must be verifiable upon submission of the Full Application. Cost share may be provided in the form of cash or cash equivalents, or in-kind contributions. Cost share must come from non-federal sources (unless otherwise allowed by law), such as project participants, state or local governments, or other third-party financing. A DOE Loan or Loan Guarantee cannot be leveraged by applicants to provide the required cost share or otherwise support the same scope that is proposed under a project.

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Cost share may be provided by the prime recipient, subrecipients, or third parties (entities that do not have a role in performing the scope of work).

Vendors/contractors may not provide cost share. Any partial donation of goods or services is considered a discount and is not allowable.

Cash contributions include, but are not limited to: personnel costs, fringe costs, supply and equipment costs, indirect costs and other direct costs.

In-kind contributions are those where a value of the contribution can be readily determined, verified and justified but where no actual cash is transacted in securing the good or service comprising the contribution. Allowable in-kind contributions include but are not limited to: the donation of volunteer time or the donation of space or use of equipment.

Project teams may use funding or property received from state or local governments to meet the cost share requirement, so long as Federal Government did not provide the funding to the state or local government.

The Recipient may not use the following sources to meet its cost share obligations including, but not limited to:

• Revenues or royalties from the prospective operation of an activity beyond the project period;

• Proceeds from the prospective sale of an asset of an activity;

• Federal funding or property (e.g., Federal grants, equipment owned by the Federal Government); or

• Expenditures that were reimbursed under a separate Federal Program.

Project Teams may not use the same cash or in-kind contributions to meet cost share requirements for more than one project or program.

Cost share contributions must be specified in the project budget, verifiable from the Prime Recipient’s records, and necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient accomplishment of the project. As all sources of cost share are considered part of total project cost, the cost share dollars will be scrutinized under the same Federal regulations as Federal dollars to the project. Every cost share contribution must be reviewed and approved in advance by the Contracting Officer and incorporated into the project budget before the expenditures are incurred.

Applicants are encouraged to refer to 2 CFR 200.306 as amended by 2 CFR

910.130 for additional cost sharing requirements.

Please refer to the “Cost Share Information” Appendix A of the FOA.

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iv. Cost Share Verification

Applicants are required to provide written assurance of their proposed cost share contributions in their Full Applications.

Upon selection for award negotiations, applicants are required to provide additional information and documentation regarding their cost share contributions. Please refer to the “Cost Share Information” Appendix A of the

FOA.

v. Cost Share Contributions by FFRDCs

Because FFRDCs and NLs are funded by the Federal Government, costs incurred by FFRDCs and NLs generally may not be used to meet the cost share requirement. FFRDCs and NLs may contribute cost share only if the contributions are paid directly from the contractor’s Management Fee or another non-Federal source. In such instance, the FFRDC and NLs must certify in writing that the cost share comes from non-Federal sources.

B. Compliance Criteria

A review of all submitted documents and information is performed to determine if the submissions are in compliance with the FOA requirements. All submitted information and documents must meet all Compliance Criteria listed below to be eligible for review or the submission will be considered noncompliant. DOE will NOT review or consider noncompliant submissions.

Concept Papers. Concept Papers are deemed compliant if:

• The Concept Paper complies with the content and form requirements in Section IV, “Application and Submission Information; Form and Content Requirements" and Section IV, “Application and Submission Information;

Concept Papers” of the FOA; and

• The applicant successfully emailed all required documents to ConceptPapersFOA3127@netl.doe.gov by the deadline stated in this FOA. DOE will not extend the submission deadline for applicants that fail to submit required information by the applicable deadline due to server/connection congestion.

Full Applications. Full Applications are deemed compliant if:

• The applicant submitted a compliant/responsive Concept Paper;

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• The Full Application complies with the DOE share of the individual award size in Section II, “Award Information; Award Overview” of the FOA;

• The Full Application complies with the content and form requirements in Section IV, “Application and Submission Information; Form and Content Requirements,” and Section IV, “Application and Submission Information;

Full Applications “of the FOA; and

• The applicant successfully uploaded all required documents and clicked the “Submit” button in Grants.gov by the deadline stated in the FOA.

DOE will not extend the submission deadline for applicants that fail to submit required information by the applicable deadline due to server/connection congestion.

C. Responsiveness Criteria

A review of all submitted documents and information is performed to determine if the submissions are responsive to the FOA requirements. All submitted information and documents must meet all of the Responsiveness Criteria listed below to be eligible for review or the submission will be considered non-responsive. DOE will NOT review or consider non-responsive submissions.

Concept Papers. Concept Papers are deemed responsive if:

- They meet the Concept Paper review criteria set forth in Section V, “Application and Review Information; Concept Paper Review” of the FOA.

Only applicants who have submitted a compliant/responsive Concept Paper will be eligible to submit a Full Application.

Full Applications. Full Applications are deemed responsive if:

- The application meets the technical requirements as described in the

“Objectives/Areas of Interest” contained in Section I, “Funding Opportunity Description” of the FOA; and

- The Applicant/application meets the Eligibility Criteria in Section III of the

FOA.

Only compliant/responsive applications will be eligible for a comprehensive merit review.

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D. Number of Submittals Eligible for Review

Applicants may submit multiple applications under the area of interest of this FOA; Each submitted application should be distinct and tailored to the area of interest.

E. Questions Regarding Eligibility

DOE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant.

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IV. Application and Submission Information

F. Form and Content Requirements

All submissions must conform to the following form and content requirements, including maximum page limits (described below) and must be submitted as specifically stated. DOE will not review or consider submissions submitted through means other than specifically stated in the FOA, submissions submitted after the applicable deadline, and incomplete submissions. DOE will not extend deadlines for applicants who fail to submit required information and documents by the applicable deadline due to server/connection congestion.

The Concept Paper and Full Application must conform to the following requirements:

• Each must be submitted in Adobe PDF format unless stated otherwise.

• Each must be written in English.

• All pages must be formatted to fit on 8.5 x 11” paper with margins not less than one inch on every side. Use Times New Roman typeface, a black font color, and a font size of 11 point or larger (except in figures or tables, which may be 10 point font). A symbol font may be used to insert Greek letters or special characters, but the font size requirement still applies.

References must be included as footnotes or endnotes in a font size of 10 or larger. Footnotes and endnotes are counted toward the maximum page requirement.

• Each submission must not exceed the specified maximum page limit when printed using the formatting requirements set forth above and single spaced. The maximum page limit includes the cover page, references, charts, graphs, data, maps, photographs, and other reference material the applicant may include with the submission. If applicants exceed the maximum page limits indicated below, DOE will review only the authorized number of pages and disregard any additional pages.

Applicants are responsible for meeting each submission deadline. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their Concept Paper and Full Applications 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 or Full Application. Once the Concept Paper or Full Application is submitted, applicants may revise or update that submission until the expiration of the applicable deadline. If changes are made, the applicant must resubmit the Concept Paper and/or Full Application, before the applicable deadline.

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DOE urges applicants to carefully review their Concept Papers and Full Applications and to allow sufficient time for the submission of required information and documents. All Full Applications that pass the initial eligibility review will undergo comprehensive technical merit review according to the criteria identified in Section V, “Application and Submission Information; Review Criteria” of the FOA.

G. Concept Papers

To be eligible to submit a Full Application, applicants must submit a Concept Paper by the specified due date and time on the FOA cover page. Save the Concept Paper in a single file named “ RecipientName.PDF”.

Concept Papers must be submitted via email to ConceptPapersFOA3127@netl.doe.gov. The subject line of the e-mail MUST include the Area of Interest the Applicant is responding to and read as follows “Area of Interest 1 Concept Paper FOA 3127”. Any other form of submission will not be accepted. APPLICANTS WHO DO NOT SUBMIT A CONCEPT PAPER

CANNOT SUBMIT A FULL APPLICATION.

DOE makes an independent assessment of each Concept Paper based on the criteria in Section V, “Application Review Information; Review Criteria” of the FOA. DOE will encourage a subset of applicants to submit Full Applications.