PNNL

The Energy to Communities (E2C) program connects local governments, electric utilities, tribes, and community-based organizations to national laboratory experts who provide technical assistance to communities to achieve their energy goals. The program helps communities achieve local and regional priorities for establishing abundant, reliable, affordable, and secure energy systems. By coupling robust connections between key stakeholders and experts with effective technology and analytics, E2C helps to close the gap between energy integration goals and actual deployment.

The E2C program provides three offerings: 

• In-Depth Partnerships: Multiyear and multi-sector efforts that build partnerships across a range of stakeholders provide modeling, analysis, and validation, paired with direct funding to help teams of local governments, electric utilities, and community-based organizations reach their goals and/or overcome specific challenges. 
• Expert Match: Short-term assistance (40-60 hours) with one or more technical experts from the national laboratories to help address near-term energy questions or challenges.
• Peer-Learning Cohorts: Small groups of approximately 15 local governments, electric utilities, or community-based organizations that meet regularly for approximately six months to learn from each other and laboratory experts in a collaborative environment. Outcomes of these efforts result in the development of program proposals, action plans, strategies, and/or best practices on a pre-determined energy topic.

Expert match accepts applications on a rolling basis, while the in-depth partnerships and peer-learning cohorts are open periodically. For more information on applying for each program, visit the program administration website.