In alignment with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a significant $2.2 billion investment aimed at bolstering the nation’s electrical grid.
This initiative, as the second funding round under this program after the first funding in October 2023 of almost $3.5B, will span eight projects across 18 states, focusing on enhancing grid resilience against extreme weather events, reducing costs for communities, and expanding grid capacity to accommodate increasing energy demands from manufacturing and data centers.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm emphasized the urgency of strengthening the aging grid to protect American communities amid increasing extreme weather events, stating, “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.”
Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program, the newly announced projects are expected to stimulate nearly $10 billion in public and private investments. This will result in the deployment of innovative transmission infrastructure and technology upgrades, increasing the grid’s capacity by approximately 13 gigawatts (GW), including 4,800 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind energy. Additionally, these projects are projected to create at least 5,000 jobs and upgrade over 1,000 miles of transmission lines.
John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy, highlighted the importance of grid improvements for achieving national climate and clean energy goals. “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,” Podesta said.
The GRIP Program represents the federal government’s largest direct investment in critical grid infrastructure. It is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s initiatives to fund, permit, and deploy grid updates nationwide. The Grid Innovation Program grants, one of the three GRIP funding mechanisms, focus on projects that use innovative approaches to enhance grid resilience and reliability.
Among the selected projects, over $300 million will be directed towards community workforce development, scholarships, and apprentice programs, along with grants to community organizations. Six of the eight projects will engage local partnerships with labor unions, with five partnering with local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
The Investing in America agenda is driving the largest electric grid infrastructure investment in history, aimed at strengthening America’s power grid while lowering energy costs and creating well-paying jobs. The GRIP Program, alongside other funding mechanisms, supports the deployment of modern grid technologies, accelerates transmission permitting, and increases grid capacity to meet growing electricity demands from electrification, data centers, and manufacturing.
