Solar Technologies’ Rapid Integration and Validation for Energy Systems (STRIVES) | DE FOA 0003331

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003331

Solar Technologies' Rapid Integration and Validation for Energy Systems (STRIVES) is a U.S. Department of Energy funding opportunity led by the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) in collaboration with the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO). The program is aimed at helping the electric grid handle the fast-growing presence of inverter-based resources (IBRs) and distributed energy resources (DERs), including solar, wind, energy storage, and grid-interactive technologies like buildings and electric vehicles. In practical terms, STRIVES is focused on two related needs: better technical tools to model and understand a grid dominated by power electronics, and better operational and business approaches for running distribution systems so these resources can be integrated in a way that is reliable, resilient, secure, and economically beneficial.

The core motivation behind STRIVES is the reality that the U.S. grid is shifting from a centrally controlled system to one that is increasingly decentralized and digitally managed. Instead of a smaller number of large generators supplying power in a top-down way, distribution networks now host many geographically dispersed assets that can both produce and consume electricity, often responding quickly through software and power electronics. This transition creates new operational challenges, such as coordinating many devices at once, ensuring stability during disturbances, and maintaining power quality, all while protecting cybersecurity and keeping the system resilient. At the same time, it brings new participants into grid operations and energy markets, opening the door to new organizational and market structures that can broaden access and make participation more equitable.

STRIVES will provide up to $31 million in total funding for research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means DOE expects substantial involvement during the project period, such as technical coordination, milestones, and active program management. The opportunity is listed as discretionary funding, with eligibility described as unrestricted, meaning a broad set of applicants may apply as long as they meet standard federal requirements and any FOA-specific conditions. The administering agency is DOE's Golden Field Office. The opportunity number is DE-FOA-0003331, and it is associated with CFDA number 81.087. The original application deadline is October 17, 2024. DOE anticipates making about 15 awards, and the maximum award size (award ceiling) is $3,000,000 per project.

The work is organized into two topic areas. Topic Area 1, "Robust Experimentation and Advanced Learning for Distribution System Operators," supports projects that design and conduct field demonstrations of distribution system operator (DSO) models. The emphasis is on real-world experimentation, learning, and validation of how DSOs could function as the grid becomes more distributed. These projects are expected to consider both technology development and the evolving roles of non-traditional stakeholders, such as DER aggregators, building owners, community organizations, or fleet operators, in the provision of distribution-level services and potential local electricity markets. In other words, this topic area is not just about new control room software; it is also about how responsibilities, incentives, and participation could be structured so distribution operations can coordinate DERs effectively and fairly.

Topic Area 2, "Improved Simulation Tools for Large-Scale IBR Transient and Dynamic Studies," focuses on advancing the modeling and simulation capabilities that power systems engineers rely on to plan and operate the grid. As IBR penetration grows, traditional modeling approaches can struggle to capture fast inverter controls, complex interactions across many devices, and the dynamics of geographically dispersed resources during disturbances. Projects in this topic are expected to develop and demonstrate software tools and methodologies that make transient and dynamic studies more accurate and more efficient at large scale. The intent is to strengthen industry and utility ability to evaluate reliability and stability impacts, reduce uncertainty in interconnection and planning studies, and support confident deployment of clean energy resources without compromising grid performance.

STRIVES also sits within a broader DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) push to improve grid planning and operations through multiple coordinated funding opportunities totaling more than $100 million. That context matters because STRIVES is designed to produce outcomes that can be demonstrated in the field, integrated into real engineering workflows, and carried forward by the organizations that run and regulate the grid. The overarching deliverables DOE is driving toward include validated operational approaches for distribution systems, more realistic and scalable simulation tools for IBR-rich power systems, and demonstrations of business and organizational models that enable DER coordination while supporting reliability, resilience, security, and expanded participation in emerging grid services and markets.

• The Golden Field Office in the energy, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Solar Technologies’ Rapid Integration and Validation for Energy Systems (STRIVES)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-10-17. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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