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US Invests $2.2B Into Grid Upgrades for Climate Resilience

Projects will add nearly 13 GW of energy capacity to support more manufacturing, data centers and renewable power; catalyze nearly $10B in public-private investments and create thousands of jobs.

Published 3 months ago | About a 7 minute read

Image: Clean Path New York

In support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has invested $2.2 billion in the nation’s grid for eight projects across 18 states 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.

Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program, the projects selected will catalyze nearly $10 billion in total public and private investment to bring reliable, affordable, clean energy to the US. This deployment of 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 — allowing more clean power to reach customers across the country. These projects will create at least 5,000 good-paying jobs and upgrade more than 1,000 miles of transmission in total.

“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,” said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “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.”

The Administration's Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 catalyzed growth in cleantech development and manufacturing across the US. But as REN21’s Renewables 2023 Global Status Report pointed out, projects that could generate more than 1TW of renewable energy are still waiting to be constructed and connected to the grid — not just in the US, but around the world — due to delays in permitting and a lack of investment in updating grid infrastructure. The GRIP program aims to eliminate that barrier.

“We need a bigger, smarter, more resilient grid,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. “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.”

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 — part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic actions to get grid updates funded, permitting and deployed across the country. The 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.

Across the 8 projects, over $300 million will be invested in community workforce development, scholarships and apprentice programs, and grants to community organizations. GRIP projects also include strategies to ensure meaningful community and labor engagement and quality. Six of eight GRIP projects will utilize local partnerships with labor unions, at least five of which will partner with local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The full list of projects is available online.

Selected projects will leverage:

Innovative transmission infrastructure to improve grid resilience and reliability and integrate more clean energy to the grid.
- Two projects will deploy large new transmission lines: Clean Path New York (New York Power Authority) and North Plains Connector (Montana Department of Commerce). The two lines — totaling about 625 miles — will increase grid capacity by about 4,300 MW by deploying high voltage, direct current (HVDC) technology, among other things.
  - Clean Path New York will deploy HVDC cables underground and underwater to minimize right-of-way impacts that can be associated with large-scale transmission projects.
  - The North Plains Connector will increase interregional transfer capacity and provide instantaneous change of direction in electricity flows to support the eastern or western grid when required, improving resilience and reliability. The project will also enable the development of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s wind resources.
Advanced technology upgrades to deploy innovative grid technologies including advanced conductors, dynamic line ratings, microgrids and advanced distribution-management systems to increase grid capacity using existing rights of way.
- Six projects will implement technologies on the existing electric grid, increasing grid capacity and transforming grid operations.
- Three projects will deploy advanced conductors at scale to upgrade about 400 miles of existing transmission lines.
- Three projects will deploy dynamic line rating — a grid-enhancing technology that can increase system utilization by enabling transmission lines to increase power flow while still operating safely.
- The Administration is catalyzing national collaboration on deploying these modern grid technologies, including through a Federal-State Modern Grid Deployment Initiative.
Federal, interstate and private-sector collaborations and partnerships
- The RELIEF Project — headed by the Utah Office of Energy Development in collaboration with the states of Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and Wyoming, as well as the California Independent System Operator — will address system contingency issues and prevent over 5,500 hours of potential outages for 700,000 utility customers in the five states.
- Headed by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, Power Up New England is a collaboration with the states of Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. The project will reduce wholesale energy supply costs for New England customers by about $1.55 billion and create new offshore-wind interconnections in Massachusetts and in Connecticut, in addition to enabling 4,800 MW of offshore wind.
California has secured a $600 million federal grant to upgrade 100 miles of electric transmission lines with grid-enhancing technologies to improve reliability and deliver clean, affordable electricity faster. The GRIP grant was awarded to a consortium that includes the California Energy Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Independent System Operator, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, and Southern California Edison.

“The United States is leading an unprecedented expansion in the capacity of the existing US transmission network, which will further catalyze our work to deliver reliable, affordable power across the country," said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “As we build out the nation’s power grid to keep pace with historic manufacturing and clean-energy growth, we are doing so by harnessing innovative technologies to lower energy costs, create hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, and take on the climate crisis.”

Under Investing in America, the US is projected to build more new electric generation capacity this year than in two decades while also mobilizing to upgrade thousands of miles of existing transmission lines. This includes catalyzing nationwide collaboration on modern grid technologies and funding their deployment; accelerating transmission permitting; and increasing grid capacity to support electricity demand to support increased electrification, data centers and manufacturing.

In addition to the Grid Innovation Program, the GRIP Program includes two additional funding mechanisms: Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants that provide funding to the private sector to strengthen and modernize the US power grid against wildfires, extreme weather and other disruptive events exacerbated by the effects of climate change — with a focus on grid-hardening efforts; and Smart Grid Grants fund technology investments that will increase how much power the grid can handle; prevent faults that may lead to wildfires or other system disturbances, integrate more renewable energy; and facilitate the integration of electrified vehicles, buildings and other devices.

The second round of selections for GRIP’s the Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants and the Smart Grid Grants will be announced later this year.