The Energy Department recently announced an investment of up to $65 million through its Connected Communities funding opportunity. Projects selected will leverage the latest advancements in building science, such as state-of-the-art sensors, controls, and analytics, to manage and deploy grid-scale energy efficiency and distributed energy resources with greater flexibility.

“As our Nation’s energy system continues to undergo dramatic transformations, there is a growing need for solutions that integrate and optimize all of our energy resources on the grid to provide Americans with the most reliable and affordable electricity possible,” said Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette.

The Office of Electricity (OE) has an interest in the ability of Connected Communities to demonstrate how next generation technologies and technical assistance partnerships with the private sector and at all levels of government can improve the security, reliability, resilience, and blackstart capability of the grid, in particular the nation’s critical energy infrastructure.

OE is actively collaborating with DOE’s Building Technologies Office on Connected Communities, recognizing that building optimization is improved by extending into the grid, and grid optimization is improved by extending into buildings.

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