The Department of Energy on Tuesday announced $2.2 billion in funding for eight projects across 18 states to strengthen the electrical grid against increasing extreme weather, advance the transition to cleaner electricity and meet a growing demand for power. The money will help build more than 600 miles of new transmission lines and upgrade about 400 miles of existing lines so that they can carry more current. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the funding is important because extreme weather events fueled by climate change are increasing, damaging towers and bringing down wires, causing power outages.
Quick Read
- The Department of Energy announced $2.2 billion in funding for eight projects across 18 states to strengthen the electrical grid, advance cleaner electricity, and meet growing power demand.
- The funding will help build over 600 miles of new transmission lines and upgrade about 400 miles of existing lines.
- Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm emphasized the importance of these funds in mitigating power outages caused by extreme weather events fueled by climate change.
- Hurricane Beryl recently knocked out power to nearly 3 million people in Texas, resulting in at least a dozen heat-related deaths in the Houston area.
- The investments will provide more reliable, affordable electricity for 56 million homes and businesses, marking the single largest direct investment in the nation’s grid.
- This is the second round of awards from the $10.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021, with more projects to be announced this fall.
- Projects include upgrading over 100 miles of transmission line in California to integrate renewable energy and upgrading onshore connection points in New England to add 4,800 megawatts of wind energy.
- The Montana Department of Commerce will receive $700 million to build a 415-mile high-voltage transmission line across Montana and North Dakota, enhancing east-west electricity movement and resilience against extreme weather.
- The Virginia Department of Energy will receive $85 million to use clean electricity and backup power for two data centers, one in-state and one in South Carolina, providing a model for reducing grid impact.
- Max Luke from VEIR highlighted the importance of these investments but noted that significantly more grid capacity is needed for deep decarbonization and net-zero goals.
- According to Princeton University’s “Net-Zero America” research, the U.S. needs to expand electricity transmission by about 60% by 2030 and potentially triple it by 2050.
The Associated Press has the story:
Energy Dept. awards $2.2B to strengthen electrical grid, add clean power
Newslooks- (AP)
The Department of Energy on Tuesday announced $2.2 billion in funding for eight projects across 18 states to strengthen the electrical grid against increasing extreme weather, advance the transition to cleaner electricity and meet a growing demand for power. The money will help build more than 600 miles of new transmission lines and upgrade about 400 miles of existing lines so that they can carry more current. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the funding is important because extreme weather events fueled by climate change are increasing, damaging towers and bringing down wires, causing power outages.
Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas on July 8 and knocked out power to nearly 3 million people, for example. Officials have said at least a dozen Houston area residents died from complications related to the heat and losing power. The investments will provide more reliable, affordable electricity for 56 million homes and businesses, according to the DOE. Granholm said the funds program are the single largest direct investment ever in the nation’s grid. “They’ll help us to meet the needs of electrified homes and businesses and new manufacturing facilities and all of these growing data centers that are placing demands on the grid,” Granholm said in a press call to announce the funding.
It’s the second round of awards through a $10.5 billion DOE program called Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships. It was funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021. More projects will be announced this fall. Among the ones in this round, more than 100 miles of transmission line in California will be upgraded so that new renewable energy can be added more quickly and also as a response to a growing demand for electricity. A project in New England will upgrade onshore connection points for electricity generated by wind turbines offshore, allowing 4,800 megawatts of wind energy can be added, enough to power about 2 million homes.
The Montana Department of Commerce will get $700 million. Most of it will go toward building a 415-mile, high-voltage, direct current transmission line across Montana and North Dakota. The North Plains Connector will increase the ability to move electricity from east to west and vice versa, and help protect against extreme weather and power disruptions.
The Virginia Department of Energy will get $85 million to use clean electricity and clean backup power for two data centers, one instate and one in South Carolina. The DOE chose this project because the data centers will be responsive to the grid in a new way. They could provide needed electricity to the local grid on a hot day, from batteries, or reduce their energy use in times of high demand. This could serve as a model for other data centers to reduce their impact on a local area, given how much demand they place on the grid, according to the department.
“These investments are certainly a step in the right direction and they are the right types of investments,” said Max Luke, director of business development and regulatory affairs at VEIR, an early-stage Massachusetts company developing advanced transmission lines capable of carrying five times the power of conventional ones. “If you look at the scale of the challenge and the quantity of grid capacity needed for deep decarbonization and net zero, it’s a drop in the bucket.” According to Princeton University’s “Net-Zero America” research, the United States will need to expand electricity transmission by roughly 60% by 2030 and may need to triple it by 2050.
