The US Department of Energy (DOE) plans to invest $2.2bn in the country’s power grid for eight projects across 18 states to safeguard against rising threats of extreme weather events.
In line with President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the commitment is expected to lower costs for communities and facilitate additional grid capacity to address load growth stemming from an increase in manufacturing and data centers.
By implementing innovative transmission infrastructure and technology upgrades to the existing grid, the US DOE will add nearly 13GW of grid capacity. This includes 4.8GW of offshore wind, delivering more clean energy to reach customers across the country.
In addition, the projects are anticipated to generate a minimum of 5,000 good-paying jobs as well as upgrade over 1609km of transmission in total.
Furthermore, the projects, which are funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) programme, will drive nearly $10bn in total public and private investment to deliver affordable and clean energy to Americans.
According to the DOE, the GRIP programme funding marks the single largest direct investment to be made by the federal government into critical grid infrastructure.
The selected projects include Clean Path New York and North Plains Connector, which will add 4.3GW of capacity with high voltage direct current (HVDC) technology over 1,006km.
Clean Path New York will use underground and underwater HVDC cables, while North Plains Connector will enhance interregional electricity flow and develop wind resources for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
Six projects will implement advanced conductors and dynamic line ratings to upgrade 643km of transmission lines.
US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said: “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.
“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 households, and support the ongoing manufacturing boom—all while creating thousands of local jobs.”
In June this year, the DOE committed $2.7bn to strengthen the nuclear fuel supply chain in the country. The department also issued a request for proposal (RFP) to buy low-enriched uranium (LEU) from domestic sources.
