MassCEC is offering limited funds to enable qualified Massachusetts applicants to meet the cost-share requirement under U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) the Sustainable and Holistic Integration of Energy Storage and Solar PV (SHINES) program (Funding Opportunity Announcement Number DE-FOA-0001108).
The goal of SHINES is to foster the development and demonstration of integrated, scalable, and cost-effective solar electric technologies that incorporate energy storage. By providing cost share support, MassCEC seeks to increase the competitiveness of the applications, with the ultimate goal of attracting more federal funding for technology advancement to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Energy storage can provide a wide range of benefits to Massachusetts business and residential rate payers. Storage can be used to "shift" the output of solar PV and wind production to better align it with peak demand on the electric grid. This can result in lower bills for customers by reducing the consumption of expensive peak electricity. Storage can also compensate for intermittency problems associated with renewable energy. The resulting combination of solar and storage can provide additional capacity to overtaxed distribution infrastructure, potentially deferring the need to make costly upgrades to substations and other infrastructure.
Successful projects are likely to involve smart inverters, smart buildings, smart appliances, and utility communication and control systems in residential and commercial settings. The goal of these projects is to enable widespread sustainable deployment of low-cost, flexible, and reliable solar generation, and provide for successful integration of solar energy with the electric grid.
Eligibility
Only qualified Massachusetts-based applicants that perform more than 50 percent of their work in Massachusetts are eligible to apply for MassCEC's cost-share funding. In addition to meeting the goals outlined in the DOE FOA, MassCEC will review proposals and will make cost-share commitments based on the strength of the proposal's alignment with MassCEC's enabling statute and its mission. This will include, but is not limited to:
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A proposal for a clean energy technology or research project that meets the definition "clean energy" or "clean energy research" as defined in MassCEC's enabling statute: Massachusetts General Law Chapter 23j section 1;
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A proposal that supports the growth and development of Massachusetts-based clean energy companies and that demonstrates potential for meaningful clean energy employment;
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A proposal that addresses, in part, persistent energy challenges endemic to the state and the region;
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A proposal that demonstrates potential for meaningful energy cost reductions;
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A proposal that has the potential to relieve grid constraints in the state and the region;
Funding is conditioned on receiving an award and a funding commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy. MassCEC will exercise its discretion in making funding commitments to the proposals it deems most likely to achieve the goals identified above.
Application Process
If your organization is part of a team that has submitted a concept paper and intends to submit a full application by the March 26, 2015 deadline, please contact Kavita Ravi at kravi@masscec.com or (617) 315-9364, to determine whether your team may be eligible for MassCEC cost-share funding.
Applicants will be expected to submit certain components of final DOE application materials but without confidential or proprietary information by 5 p.m. on March 12, 2015. If approved, letters of commitment will be generated by March 20, 2015.
