Skip to main content

PNNL

  • About
  • News & Media
  • Careers
  • Events
  • Research
    • Scientific Discovery
      • Biology
        • Chemical Biology
        • Computational Biology
        • Ecosystem Science
        • Human Health
          • Cancer Biology
          • Exposure Science & Pathogen Biology
          • Metabolic Inflammatory Diseases
        • Integrative Omics
          • Advanced Metabolomics
          • Chemical Biology
          • Mass Spectrometry-Based Measurement Technologies
          • Spatial and Single-Cell Proteomics
          • Structural Biology
        • Microbiome Science
          • Biofuels & Bioproducts
          • Human Microbiome
          • Soil Microbiome
          • Synthetic Biology
      • Chemistry
        • Computational Chemistry
        • Chemical Separations
        • Chemical Physics
        • Catalysis
      • Earth & Coastal Sciences
        • Atmospheric Science
          • Atmospheric Aerosols
          • Human-Earth System Interactions
          • Modeling Earth Systems
        • Coastal Science
        • Ecosystem Science
        • Plant Science
        • Subsurface Science
        • Terrestrial Aquatics
      • Materials Sciences
        • Materials in Extreme Environments
        • Precision Materials by Design
        • Science of Interfaces
        • Solid Phase Processing
          • Cold Spray
          • Friction Stir Welding & Processing
          • ShAPE
      • Nuclear & Particle Physics
        • Dark Matter
        • Flavor Physics
        • Fusion Energy Science
        • Neutrino Physics
      • Quantum Information Sciences
    • Sustainable Energy
      • Electric Grid Modernization
        • Emergency Response
        • Grid Analytics
          • AGM Program
          • Tools and Capabilities
        • Grid Architecture
        • Grid Cybersecurity
        • Grid Energy Storage
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
          • Earth System Modeling
          • Energy System Modeling
        • Transmission
        • Distribution
      • Energy Efficiency
        • Appliance and Equipment Standards
        • Building Energy Codes
        • Building Technologies
          • Advanced Building Controls
          • Advanced Lighting
          • Building-Grid Integration
        • Building and Grid Modeling
        • Commercial Buildings
        • Federal Buildings
          • Federal Performance Optimization
          • Resilience and Security
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
        • Residential Buildings
          • Building America Solution Center
          • Energy Efficient Technology Integration
          • Home Energy Score
        • Energy Efficient Technology Integration
      • Energy Storage
        • Electrochemical Energy Storage
        • Flexible Loads and Generation
        • Grid Integration, Controls, and Architecture
        • Regulation, Policy, and Valuation
        • Science Supporting Energy Storage
        • Chemical Energy Storage
      • Environmental Management
        • Waste Processing
        • Radiation Measurement
        • Environmental Remediation
      • Fossil Energy
        • Subsurface Energy Systems
        • Carbon Management
          • Carbon Capture
          • Carbon Storage
          • Carbon Utilization
        • Advanced Hydrocarbon Conversion
      • Nuclear Energy
        • Fuel Cycle Research
        • Advanced Reactors
        • Reactor Operations
        • Reactor Licensing
      • Renewable Energy
        • Solar Energy
        • Wind Energy
          • Wind Resource Characterization
          • Wildlife and Wind
          • Community Values and Ocean Co-Use
          • Wind Systems Integration
          • Wind Data Management
          • Distributed Wind
        • Energy Equity & Health
        • Marine Energy
          • Environmental Monitoring for Marine Energy
          • Marine Biofouling and Corrosion
          • Marine Energy Resource Characterization
          • Testing for Marine Energy
          • The Blue Economy
        • Hydropower
          • Environmental Performance of Hydropower
          • Hydropower Cybersecurity and Digitalization
          • Hydropower and the Electric Grid
          • Materials Science for Hydropower
          • Pumped Storage Hydropower
          • Water + Hydropower Planning
        • Grid Integration of Renewable Energy
        • Geothermal Energy
      • Transportation
        • Bioenergy Technologies
          • Algal Biofuels
          • Aviation Biofuels
          • Waste-to-Energy and Products
        • Hydrogen & Fuel Cells
        • Vehicle Technologies
          • Emission Control
          • Energy-Efficient Mobility Systems
          • Lightweight Materials
          • Vehicle Electrification
          • Vehicle Grid Integration
    • National Security
      • Chemical & Biothreat Signatures
        • Contraband Detection
        • Pathogen Science & Detection
        • Explosives Detection
        • Threat-Agnostic Biodefense
      • Cybersecurity
        • Discovery and Insight
        • Proactive Defense
        • Trusted Systems
      • Nuclear Material Science
      • Nuclear Nonproliferation
        • Radiological & Nuclear Detection
        • Nuclear Forensics
        • Ultra-Sensitive Nuclear Measurements
        • Nuclear Explosion Monitoring
        • Global Nuclear & Radiological Security
      • Stakeholder Engagement
        • Disaster Recovery
        • Global Collaborations
        • Legislative and Regulatory Analysis
        • Technical Training
      • Systems Integration & Deployment
        • Additive Manufacturing
        • Deployed Technologies
        • Rapid Prototyping
        • Systems Engineering
      • Threat Analysis
        • Advanced Wireless Security
          • 5G Security
          • RF Signal Detection & Exploitation
        • Climate Security
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
        • Internet of Things
        • Maritime Security
    • Data Science & Computing
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Graph and Data Analytics
      • Software Engineering
      • Computational Mathematics & Statistics
      • High-Performance Computing
      • Visual Analytics
    • Lab Objectives
    • Publications & Reports
    • Featured Research
  • People
    • Inventors
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Lab Leadership
    • Lab Fellows
    • Staff Accomplishments
  • Partner with PNNL
    • Education
      • Undergraduate Students
      • Graduate Students
      • University Faculty
      • University Partnerships
      • K-12 Educators and Students
      • STEM Education
        • STEM Workforce Development
        • STEM Outreach
      • Internships
    • Community
      • Regional Impact
      • Philanthropy
      • Volunteering
    • Industry
      • Available Technologies
      • Industry
      • Industry Partnerships
      • Licensing & Technology Transfer
      • Entrepreneurial Leave
  • Facilities & Centers
    • All Facilities
      • Atmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility
      • Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center
      • Energy Sciences Center
      • Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
      • Grid Storage Launchpad
      • Institute for Integrated Catalysis
      • Interdiction Technology and Integration Laboratory
      • PNNL Seattle Research Center
      • PNNL-Sequim (Marine and Coastal Research)
      • Radiochemical Processing Laboratory
      • Shallow Underground Laboratory

Energy Storage for Social Equity Initiative

  • Technical Assistance Program
  • Technical Assistance Participants
  • Project Development
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • News & Events

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Projects
  3. Energy Storage for Social Equity Initiative

Energy Storage for Social Equity Technical Assistance Program

The Energy Storage for Social Equity Technical Assistance (TA) Program will be provided by PNNL

Communities across the country face energy challenges but may not know how energy storage can be a solution. The TA program offers comprehensive and personalized assessments on energy storage feasibility, design, and application to help communities meet their goals and enable positive outcomes. Through this program, participants will gain a deeper understanding of their energy system challenges and possible solutions, develop a network of people to serve as a valuable resource long after the technical assistance program is over, and be closer to implementing solutions to the community-defined challenges.  

Energy storage benefits and areas of technical assistance can include: 

  • Energy Access—Energy storage, when integrated with a fuel source (fossil or renewable), can provide energy access. 
  • Energy Affordability—Energy storage can reduce energy costs for consumers, increasing energy affordability.
  • Decarbonization—Energy storage can be integrated with renewable energy to provide clean energy in place of traditional fossil fuel systems.
  • Environmental Impact—Energy storage can replace peaker plants or backup generators to reduce pollution.
  • Resilience—Energy storage can be integrated with energy systems to provide energy that is accessible during extreme weather events.
  • Social Impact— Energy storage can serve as a community asset.  

What participating communities can expect during the technical assistance phase

Through this initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy intends to select up to 15 disadvantaged communities to receive direct technical assistance from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Sandia National Laboratories. The technical assistance will give communities the information, tools, and resources needed to understand their energy system challenges and evaluate whether deploying energy storage technologies and other infrastructure will meet community needs.

This assistance could mean different things for different communities, but some examples of technical assistance include:

  • Developing a complete energy profile by gathering information on local stakeholders, demographics, power infrastructure, electricity load profiles, electricity rate and tariff structures, current and historical energy challenges, and future energy opportunities.
  • Identifying metrics in partnership with the technical assistance team to measure what’s important to them – whether that’s affordability, environmental impact, or climate resilience.
  • Conducting an observational study to determine the relationship between the electricity system and current socioeconomic conditions, including an equity and workforce assessment. After the assessment is complete, each community will receive a brief and actionable report containing findings, qualitative evidence, and summarized statistics in an easy-to-read visual dashboard.
  • Identifying solutions, technologies, logistics, follow-on funding, and partners to support community in meeting its energy goals.
  • Jointly developing a roadmap for project development and technology deployment.

Eligibility and application selection criteria (Application period is now closed)

Wind Turbine Energy Storage
The technical assistance program will offer assessment on energy storage feasibility, design, application, operations, and maintenance in support of disadvantaged communities. | Shutterstock

Each application will be evaluated by a review committee made up of energy, community, academia, and national laboratory personnel. Applications must meet the eligibility criteria, and eligible applications will then be scored based on the selection criteria. Both eligibility and selection criteria will be evaluated through the submitted application. The final selection will depend upon the availability of funds and approval by the DOE. The program anticipates selecting 10-15 participants.

Eligibility Criteria

  1. Technical assistance will provide benefits to a disadvantaged community
  2. Disadvantaged community experiences problems or challenges with their energy system that can be addressed or partially mitigated through electric service delivery and/or energy storage
  3. Applicant must have the capacity to support the technical assistance process
  4. Applicant must have credibility to support the disadvantaged community.

Selection Criteria

  1. Impact potential of energy storage to contribute to community objectives
  2. Unique value of laboratory analysis (limited funding, need for scoping work, potential public benefit, etc.)
  3. Strength of team described in the application to support the technical assistance process, develop a cohort with other participants, and support the community.
  4. Likelihood of technical feasibility to enable implementation of solution identified in technical assistance. Note: this program does not include implementation/demonstration/deployment

For full program details, including eligibility criteria, selection criteria, and application deadlines please download the Energy Storage for Social Equity Initiative packet. Download Now.

How do I apply? 

PNNL is available to assist applicants who would like additional support filling out the application form on the website. Please don't hesitate to contact us at ES4SE@pnnl.gov with any questions. We're happy to help make the application process easy and seamless for you. Applications are due by December 3, 2021 at 5 P.M. Pacific Time. (Application period is now closed)

If you have any questions about the technical assistance program, please contact us or visit our FAQ.

Email: ES4SE@pnnl.gov  

Phone: 509-372-4487 

Research topics

Sustainable Energy
Electric Grid Modernization
Energy Storage

PNNL

  • Get in Touch
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Doing Business
    • Environmental Reports
    • Security & Privacy
    • Vulnerability Disclosure Program
  • Research
    • Scientific Discovery
    • Sustainable Energy
    • National Security
Subscribe to PNNL News
Department of Energy Logo Battelle Logo
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is managed and operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn