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Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnerships (GRIP) Program

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Grant Insights

The Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnerships (GRIP) Program aims to transform the U.S. electric grid at the transmission and distribution levels by increasing resilience, enabling data-rich and flexible grid performance, and spurring innovation at all stages of project ideation and execution. Program funds are authorized through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This program has three topic areas: Topic Area 1: Grid Resilience Grants; Topic Area 2: Smart Grid Grants; and Topic Area 3: Grid Innovation Program.

Program goals include prioritizing energy justice as an essential component of infrastructure development and further catalyzing and leveraging private sector and non-Federal public capital for impactful technology and infrastructure deployment.

Key Updates U.S. Department of Energy ‒ National Energy Technology Laboratory
Funding Opportunity Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnerships (GRIP)
NOFO Release Date 11/13/2023
Letter of Intent Due Date 1/12/2024
Application Due Date 4/17/2024 (Topic Areas 1 & 2); and 5/22/2024 (Topic Area 3) by 5:00 p.m. ET via the Exchange at https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/
# of Programs Topic Area 1: Grid Resilience Grants (Section 40101(c))
Topic Area 2: Smart Grid Grants (Section 40107)
Topic Area 3: Grid Innovation Program (Section 40103(b))
Total Funding Available  $3,900,000,000
Award Minimum $10,000,000
Award Maximum $1,000,000,000
Recipient Cost-Share/Match Requirements: Topic Area 1: Required Applicant Cost-Share: 100% of the Federal Award
Topic Area 2: Required Applicant Cost-Share: 50% of Total Project Costs
Topic Area 3: Required Applicant Cost-Share: 50% of Total Project Costs
*Exception for Topic Area 1: Small utilities selling less than 4,000,000MWh of electricity per year are required to match one-third of the grant.
**Cost-share must come from non-Federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law.
Summary

Program Objectives
This NOFO seeks projects that contribute to designing a more resilient and reliable grid and that support the following outcomes:
· Increasing transfer capacity between regions
· Increasing system resilience in the face of climate change-induced natural disasters
· Addressing the most consequential system challenges, such as increasing interconnection queue time for clean energy and
· Increasing supply of diverse location-constrained energy resources to enhance resource adequacy and reduce outages.
Eligible Applicants Topic Area 1:
· Electric Grid Operator; Electricity Storage Operator; Electricity Generator; Transmission Owner or Operator; Distribution Provider; Fuel Supplier; and any other relevant entity, as the Secretary determines.
Topic Area 2:
· Institutions of Higher Education; For-Profit Entities; Non-Profit and Not-For-Profit Entities; State and Local Governmental Entities; and Tribal Nations.
Topic Area 3:
· A State; a combination of 2 or more States; Indian Tribe; Unit of Local Government; and Public Utility Commissions.

*Applicants may apply as a Team but must designate one team member to serve as the prime recipient, and that team member must qualify as an eligible entity.
**Applicants for Topic Areas 1 & 3 must certify that the prime applicant is an eligible entity for the Topic Area and complete/submit a Project Description and Assurance Document (PDAD) Template.
Special Consideration Thirty percent (30%) of the total funding available will be set aside for Small Utilities; approximately 3-6 of the anticipated number of awards will be made through this set-aside. Applicants are required to describe how the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility program objectives will be incorporated into the project. Applicants are highly encouraged to include individuals from groups historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields on their project teams.
Notes Priority Areas of Investment (not limited to):
· Projects that cover multiple utility service territories.
· Projects that address substation hardening.
· Projects implementing novel and replicable approaches to reducing energy burden and increasing resilience for disadvantaged communities.
· Projects that significantly increase the transmission capacity of existing rights-of-way, enabling integration and full utilization of high-capacity corridors.
· Projects that foster the growth of a highly skilled power sector workforce and minimize workforce constraints associated with power sector innovation.

An entity may submit more than one Concept Paper and Full Application to this NOFO, provided each application is unique, and Concept Papers were submitted for each Full Application.

DOE will only accept new applications under this NOFO; new applications are projects that are not currently DOE-funded awards.
Contact Information Question submittal regarding the NOFO:
DOE Program Staff
FOA3195@netl.doe.gov

All questions and answers related to the NOFO will be posted on Exchange at:
https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/
*You must first select this specific NOFO number to view its questions and answers.

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