- The $3.5 billion funding for 58 projects across 44 states comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law Biden signed in 2021.
- The projects will bring more than 35 GW of new electricity onto the grid from wind, solar and other renewable power.
President Joe Biden’s administration announced $3.5 billion in grants for power grid projects. The grants are to protect the ageing U.S. power grid from extreme weather and fires and connect transmission systems with more electricity from renewable energy sources. The U.S. Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, said the funding for 58 projects across 44 states comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law Biden signed in 2021. According to her, it is the largest-ever direct investment in the grid.
The U.S. power grid, much of it built nearly a century ago, is being strained by storms, floods and heat waves fueled by climate change even as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence are boosting power demand, Granholm told reporters in a call. In 2021, the Texas grid collapsed during a cold spell, killing more than 200 people and leaving millions of homes without power. Wildfires have harmed the grid in other states.
“The grid, as it currently sits, is not equipped to handle all the new demand … we need it to be bigger, we need it to be stronger, we need it to be smarter, to bring all these new projects online,” Granholm said. The Department of Energy (DOE) said the projects will help bring more than 35 gigawatts of new electricity onto the grid from wind, solar, and other renewable power and invest in 400 microgrids or self-sufficient energy systems. More than 75 per cent of the projects have partnerships with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union. The partnerships aim to maintain or create union jobs.