Connected Communities 2.0 funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to drive innovation to manage growing building, transportation, and industrial electric loads on the grid. This FOA seeks to validate grid-edge technology innovations in real-world situations and provide new tools for utilities, grid planners and operators, automakers and smart charge management service providers, and the communities they serve.

Connected Communities 2.0 builds on successes and lessons learned from the first cohort of Connected Communities, launched in 2020, and DOE’s original smart neighborhoods in Georgia and Alabama. The first Connected Communities projects focused on integration of distributed energy resources to support a more variable grid. The 2.0 version aims to foster development of new technologies to ensure that the grid is flexible, resilient, and sized correctly to accommodate increasing loads from vehicle charging, data centers, and building and industrial electrification.