Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced plans to fund cost-shared research and development of natural gas demand response (NGDR) pilot program.

If released, funding opportunity announcement (FOA) FOA 2519, Natural Gas Demand Response Pilot Program, seeks to improve the performance, reliability and flexibility of the existing natural gas supply and delivery infrastructure, through the implementation of NGDR pilot programs.

Demand response programs aim to reduce and optimize energy consumption by promoting more transparent price signals of energy consumption to the consumers during peak demand periods.  Based on the success of demand response programs in the electricity markets—as well as a growing number of challenges with natural gas supply—government, regulators, and industry are exploring demand response programs for natural gas systems.

The programs can also improve system reliability across different demand sectors.  The reduction and optimization of natural gas consumption aligns with the Biden Harris goal of decarbonized power sector by 2035 and a net-zero emissions by 2050. The intent of the FOA is to seek applications that support the development of up to four NGDR pilot programs.

More information on this Notice of Intent can be found here.

FECM funds research and development (R&D) projects to reduce the cost of and decarbonize power generation and industrial sources, and to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere to further the sustainable use of the nation’s energy resources. To learn more, visit the FECM website, sign up for FECM news announcements, and visit the NETL website.