Through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) program, NREL offers in-depth technical partnerships that support communities in developing secure, reliable, resilient, equitable, and affordable clean energy systems.

In-depth technical partnerships help communities develop a realistic, validated plan to put clean energy ambitions into action and address key energy challenges. These partnerships offer teams—composed of local government, community-based organizations, electric utilities, and other key organizations that can represent the community—the chance to work alongside national laboratory staff to apply robust modeling and analysis tools and conduct hardware-in-the-loop testing of solutions adapted to the community’s unique conditions and contexts. This multiyear partnership allows local decision makers to evaluate and test potential scenarios and strategies in their energy transition before full technology deployment, thereby lowering risks to implementation.

Communities selected for in-depth partnerships have:

• A dedicated point of contact within the national lab system
• Direct subcontract funding to support staff or consultants
• Facilitation and community engagement support
• Extensive technical support from the DOE national laboratory complex.

C2C in-depth technical partnerships focus broadly on cross-sectoral issues related to renewable energy, mobility, and buildings. Energy security, resilience, and disaster preparedness—as well as energy equity and environmental justice—are also considered.