After Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton knocked out power for millions of Americans recently, grid resilience is top of mind. We need better grid resilience. In some places, electricity came back within a few hours. In others, it took a day or two. In places with poor grid resilience, it took a week or more! So, it’s heartening to see that another chunk of cash is being distributed by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to improve grid resilience in the USA.
“In support of the Biden–Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, today the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced that 49 states, 5 territories, 254 Tribal Nations, and the District of Columbia have received a combined total of $473.6 million in fiscal year (FY) 2024 Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants to modernize the electric grid to reduce the impacts of extreme weather events while also ensuring the reliability of the power sector,” the DOE wrote earlier today. “Supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered by DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, the Grid Resilience Formula Grant program is designed to strengthen America’s power grid against wildfires, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters that are exacerbated by the climate crisis. This funding will deliver on the Biden–Harris administration’s goals to support communities in accessing affordable, reliable, and clean electricity.”
In total, adding in this $474 million, the DOE has provided $1.3 billion in Grid Resilience State and Tribal formula grant funds since FY 2022. “Over five years, Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants anticipates distributing a total of $2.3 billion to states, territories and tribes, including Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village Corporations, based on a formula that includes factors such as population size, land area, probability and severity of disruptive events, and a locality’s historical expenditures on mitigation efforts. The states and tribes will then award these funds to eligible entities to complete a diverse set of projects, with priority given to efforts that generate the greatest community benefit while providing clean, affordable, and reliable energy.” Sounds like a plan.
“From remote and rural communities to urban centers, every pocket of America deserves a strong and reliable energy grid that can deploy clean, affordable power to homes and businesses,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The transformative investments in grid infrastructure from the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda is helping protect our main streets and downtowns during extreme weather events, while creating good-paying jobs in the process.”
Again, this funding wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Democrats controlling the US House of Representatives, US Senate, and White House, as the $474 million comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
