SAM #RFX-2026-10006

DOE Solicitation for Microgrid Development and Assessment Services in Rural and Remote Communities

The Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking proposals to advance microgrid energy systems in rural and remote U.S. communities through the Community Microgrid Assistance Partnership (C-MAP): - Government Buyer: - U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Electricity - National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), managed by Alliance for Energy Innovation, LLC - Contracting office located in Golden, Colorado - OEMs and Vendors: - No specific OEMs or commercial product manufacturers are named in the solicitation or attachments - Products/Services Requested: - Comprehensive services to support microgrid development, assessment, and transformation, including: - Regional microgrid coordination and staff training - Integration with large load energy consumers (e.g., mining, data centers) - Detailed engineering design and financial assessments for new or retrofitted microgrid systems - Operational improvements and transformation of existing microgrids - Pre-feasibility and technical assessments for industrial or large load energy consumers - Deliverables include: collaboration plans, technical development plans, design specifications, financial assessments, quarterly and final reports - Quantities and Funding: - Up to eight awards, each ranging from $200,000 to $575,000 - Total available funding is $2.5 million - Deliverables and reports scheduled over 12 to 24 months, with quarterly reporting requirements - Unique/Notable Requirements: - Focus on rural and remote communities with populations under 10,000, including Alaska, Hawaii, and island regions - Emphasis on collaboration among communities, utilities, and large energy users - Topic Area 5 requires at least 20% subcontractor price participation - Awardees must participate in two convenings (planned for fall in future years) - No specific products, part numbers, or OEMs are required; all technical details are in attachments

Description

See Request for Proposal RFX-2026-10006-CMAP and Attachments 1-6, for full description.

Program Overview The Community Microgrid Assistance Partnership (C-MAP) is an effort through the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) to expand American’s access to affordable energy, strengthen grid reliability, and bolster national security. The program supports the implementation of innovative OE-funded research to improve energy delivery to Americans living and working in rural and remote areas that have less reliable energy systems and some of the highest energy costs in the nation. Through this effort, DOE-OE provides direct funding, access to technical experts, and educational resources to energy providers and partners to build, operate, and enhance microgrid systems that improve the affordability, reliability, and security of electricity in rural and remote areas of the U.S. The 2026 C-MAP solicitation aims to support rural and remote communities to: • Develop and implement multi-community support efforts to better support or develop advanced microgrid energy systems • Develop detailed engineering designs and financial assessments in support of developing advanced microgrid systems • Expand collaboration between energy providers and large load energy users, with a goal to expand industrial development in rural areas • Assess and improve the operation of existing microgrid energy systems. This call for proposals will support energy providers, local governments and U.S. industry in remote areas to improve the operational efficiency of existing or development of new microgrid energy systems. This solicitation uses the U.S. Department of Energy definition of a microgrid: “a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity.” This solicitation targets existing or proposed microgrids which experience challenges with cost, reliability, resilience, and/or power quality. The microgrids may be electrically islanded (not connected to an external electricity infrastructure) or, if connected to external electrical infrastructure, such as electric transmission or distribution feeders, must at times operate independently of that external energy system.

The 2026 Community Microgrid Development Partnership Awards consist of five (5) topic areas: 1. Regional Microgrid Coordination To help energy service providers from multiple communities collaborate to improve the operations of, or development opportunities for, separate microgrid power systems for their independent communities. 2. Microgrid Integration with Large Load Energy Consumers To support collaboration between utilities operating community microgrids and adjacent large load energy consumers which operate, or plan to operate, independent power systems. 3. Microgrid Development To assist individual communities with completing detailed design efforts for a new, or major retrofit of an existing, microgrid power system.

4. Microgrid Transformation To equip individual communities to assess, design, and implement innovative microgrid improvements to operational microgrid systems. 5. Microgrid Assessment for Industrial or other Large Load Energy Consumers To assist individual large energy consumers to develop or advance microgrid systems, expanding energy availability while lowering costs.

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