GHG Emissions, Utilities, Wind  -  August 6, 2024

DOE Invests $2.2B in Grid Improvement

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $2.2 billion investment in the nation’s grid for eight projects across 18 states.

Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program, the investment aims 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. 

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 — and the projects will create at least 5,000 jobs and upgrade more than 1,000 miles of transmission in total.

"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," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in a statement.

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.

The announced 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.

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