Energy Northwest and California public power utility Pasadena Water and Power are among 11 Department of Energy Office of Electricity selectees for an energy storage technical assistance voucher program aimed at spurring innovations in long duration energy storage technologies among developers, small businesses, research institutions, and communities.
Energy Northwest, a Washington State-based joint action agency, and Pasadena Water and Power are Voucher Opportunity 8 (VO-8) -- Community Development Selectees.
This program will enable first-time energy storage deployments in communities that wish to benefit from the decarbonization, resilience, and workforce development that energy storage brings, DOE said.
Recipients will receive in-kind support valued at $50,000-$150,000 for assistance such as siting/permitting support, storage project road mapping, regional modeling, energy use analysis, technical feasibility studies, technology solutions, and community engagement.
Selectees can use the vouchers with predefined values for in-kind support from third-party technical assistance providers or DOE’s national laboratories rather than receiving cash awards to perform the work. They work similarly to how gift cards are used for purchases at retailers.
“The selectees for these vouchers will be able to create more reliable energy infrastructure through long-duration energy storage capabilities,” said Gene Rodrigues, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Electricity. “Their new energy storage ideas will also support communities by creating new jobs needed to make and deploy these new technologies.”
ENERGYWERX will manage the voucher program in partnership with DOE, a collaboration made possible through a Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA) mechanism.
PIAs are agreements between the Federal government and non-Federal partners to increase outreach with small business firms, higher education, and non-traditional partners. ENERGYWERX will directly reimburse voucher providers for their work on behalf of the voucher recipients.
Learn more about Voucher 7 and Voucher 8 on ENERGYWERX or read the initial voucher announcement for providers.
