The Smart Building Networks (BuildNet) program will develop optimizing controllers capable of coordinating the flow of power to and from large networks of smart buildings in order to offer critical services to the power grid. The network will make use of the thermal storage of the structures and on-site micro generation capabilities of next-generation buildings, as well as the electrical capacity of attached electric vehicles in order to intelligently control the interaction between the network of buildings and the grid. The wide range of electric utility applications, such as wind capacity firming or congestion relief, that will be possible as a result of this coordinated control will in turn allow a significant increase in the percentage of European power generated from destabilizing renewable sources.Technologically, BuildNet will be built around optimization-based or model predictive control (MPC), a paradigm that is ideally suited to the task of incorporating the current network state and forward-looking information into an optimal decision-making process. The project team will develop novel distributed MPC controllers that utilize the flexibility in the consumption, storage and generation of a distributed network of buildings by exploiting the extensive experience of the PI in optimization-based control and MPC for energy efficient buildings.Because of its theoretically grounded optimization-based control approach, holistic view of building systems and connected networks, as well as a future-looking technological scope, BuildNet's outputs will deliver impact and be relevant to researchers and practitioners alike.