$2.2 Billion for U.S. Grid to Lower Costs, Protect Against Extreme Weather, Prepare For Growing Demand – CleanTechnica

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Projects Funded by the Investing in America Agenda Will Add Nearly 13 GW of Capacity to Support Increased Manufacturing, Data Centers, And Renewable Power While Catalyzing Nearly $10 Billion In Public-Private Investments, and Creating Thousands of Jobs

RALEIGH, N.C. — In support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced a $2.2 billion investment in the nation’s grid for eight projects across 18 states to protect against growing threats of extreme weather events, lower costs for communities, and catalyze additional grid capacity to meet load growth stemming from an increase in manufacturing and data centers. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program, the projects selected today will catalyze nearly $10 billion in total public and private investment to bring reliable, affordable, clean energy to Americans. This deployment of new, innovative transmission infrastructure and technology upgrades to the existing grid will add nearly 13 gigawatts (GW) of grid capacity—including 4,800 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind—allowing more clean power to reach customers across the country. These projects will create at least 5,000 good-paying jobs and upgrade more than 1,000 miles of transmission in total.

“The first half of 2024 has already broken records for the hottest days in Earth’s history, and as extreme weather continues to hit every part of the country, we must act with urgency to strengthen our aging grid to protect American communities,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The Biden-Harris Administration is investing in the most crucial component of the nation’s infrastructure, expanding and hardening the grid to allow more resilient, clean power to reach more household, and support the ongoing manufacturing boom—all while creating thousands of local jobs.”

“In order to reach President Biden and Vice President Harris’ climate and clean energy goals, we need a bigger, smarter, more resilient grid,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. “Today’s awards are bringing us closer to our clean energy future by building out transmission and upgrading grid infrastructure from North Carolina to California.”

“Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, the United States is leading an unprecedented expansion in the capacity of the existing U.S. transmission network, which will further catalyze our work to deliver reliable, affordable power across the country,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “As we build out the nation’s power grid to keep pace with historic manufacturing and clean energy growth, we are doing so by harnessing innovative technologies to lower energy costs, create hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, and take on the climate crisis. The investments we are making today will enhance the strength and resilience of our grid, especially in the face of more climate-fueled extreme weather events like wildfires, flooding, and extreme heat.”

Part of DOE’s Building a Better Grid Initiative and authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the GRIP Program funding represents the federal government’s single largest direct investment into critical grid infrastructure – part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic actions to get grid updates funded, permitting, and deployed across the country. Today’s selections are made through Grid Innovation Program grants, one of three GRIP funding mechanisms, that seek to deploy projects that use innovative approaches to transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure to enhance grid resilience and reliability.

Across the 8 projects, over $300 million will be invested in community workforce development, scholarships and apprentice programs, as well as grants to community organizations. GRIP projects also include strategies to ensure meaningful community and labor engagement and quality. Six of eight GRIP projects will utilize local partnerships with labor unions, at least five of which will partner with local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

The full list of projects is available online.

Selected projects will leverage:

• Innovative transmission infrastructure to improve grid resilience and reliability and integrate more clean energy to the grid.
  • Two projects will deploy large new transmission lines: Clean Path New York (New York Power Authority) and North Plains Connector (Montana Department of Commerce). The two lines, totaling about 625 miles, will increase grid capacity by about 4,300 MW by deploying high voltage, direct current (HVDC) technology, among other things.
    • Clean Path New York will deploy HVDC cables underground and underwater to minimize right-of-way impacts that can be associated with large-scale transmission projects.
    • The North Plains Connector project, headed by the Montana Department of Commerce in partnership with the North Dakota Transmission Authority will increase interregional transfer capacity and provide instantaneous change of direction in electricity flows to support the eastern or western grid when required, improving resilience and reliability. The project will also enable the development of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s wind resources.
• Advanced technology upgrades to deploy innovative grid technologies including advanced conductors, dynamic line ratings, microgrids, and advanced distribution management systems to increase grid capacity using existing rights of way.
  • Six projects will implement innovative technologies on the existing electric grid, increasing grid capacity and transforming grid operations.
  • Three projects will deploy advanced conductors at scale to upgrade about 400 miles of existing transmission lines.
  • Three projects will deploy dynamic line rating, a grid-enhancing technology that can increase system utilization by enabling transmission lines to increase power flow while still operating safely.
  • The Biden-Harris Administration is catalyzing national collaboration on deploying these modern grid technologies, including through a Federal-State Modern Grid Deployment Initiative.
• Federal, interstate, and private sector collaboration to demonstrate innovative collaborations and partnerships, particularly across states and with the private sector.
  • The RELIEF project–headed by the Utah Office of Energy Development in collaboration with the states of Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming, as well as the California Independent System Operator—will address system contingency issues and prevent over 5,500 hours of potential outages for 700,000 utility customers in five states.
  • The Power Up New England project headed by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources is a collaboration with the states of Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The project will reduce wholesale energy supply costs for New England customers by about $1.55 billion and create new offshore wind interconnections in Massachusetts and in Connecticut, which—in addition to enabling 4,800 MW of offshore wind.

The Investing in America agenda is providing the largest electric grid infrastructure investment in history to strengthen America’s power grid while lowering energy costs and creating good-paying jobs. Under the Biden-Harris Administration’s leadership, the U.S. is projected to build more new electric generation capacity this year than in two decades while also mobilizing to upgrade thousands of miles of existing transmission lines. This includes catalyzing nationwide collaboration on modern grid technologies and funding their deployment, accelerating transmission permitting, and increasing grid capacity to support electricity demand to support increased electrification, data centers, and manufacturing.

In addition to the Grid Innovation Program, the GRIP Program includes two additional funding mechanisms: Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants that provide funding to the private sector to strengthen and modernize America’s power grid against wildfires, extreme weather, and other disruptive events that are exacerbated by the effects of climate change, with a focus on grid hardening efforts; and Smart Grid Grants fund technology investments that will increase how much power the grid can handle; prevent faults that may lead to wildfires or other system disturbances, integrate more renewable energy; and facilitate the integration of electrified vehicles, buildings, and other devices. The second round of selections for GRIP’s the Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants and the Smart Grid Grants will be announced later this year.

Learn more about the Grid Deployment Office.

Courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy.