The U.S. Energy Department announced a funding opportunity for projects designed to study the application of big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning technology and tools to enhance the value of sensor data used to monitor the power grid, according to a Sept. 25 press release. The department said that advanced sensors called “phasor measurement units,” currently deployed at more than 2,500 locations across the bulk power system, enable access to near real-time information about the grid’s status, and that advanced tools are needed to analyze actionable information contained in the unprecedented quantities of data available to grid operators and owners. The projects are expected to facilitate faster grid analytics and modeling, improved grid asset management, and sub-second automatic controls that will help avoid outages, enhance operations, and lower costs. Applications are due by Nov. 9.