Upgrade the US Electric Grid – DOE
On August 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the first 8 selections for the 2nd round of the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership ("GRIP") funding specifically for the "Grid Innovation Program", one of three GRIP funding mechanisms. T
Per the DOE, through the second round of GRIP funding, the Grid Innovation Program will support 8 projects across 18 states, totaling approximately $2.2 billion in federal investment. Selections for the remaining 2 funding mechanisms should be announced later this year.
The California Harnessing Advanced Reliable Grid Enhancing Technologies for Transmission (CHARGE 2T) project is a public-private partnership that is intended to drive large-scale expansion to transmission capacity and improvements to interconnection process to increase and accelerate equitable access to renewable energy across California. CHARGE 2T is supposed to reconductor more than 100 miles of transmission lines with advanced conductor technologies and deploy dynamic line ratings (DLR) to quickly and significantly increase the state's system capacity to integrate more renewable energy onto the grid. CHARGE 2T also supports transmission interconnection reform through process improvements, an interconnection portal, workforce investment, and educational resource development.
- Project: CHARGE 2T: California Harnessing Advanced Reliable Grid Enhancing Technologies for Transmission
- Applicant/Selectee: California Energy Commission
- Federal cost share: $600,561,319
- Recipient cost share: $900,841,978
- Project location: California
- Project type: Transmission
Power Up New England is a combination of New England states, ISO New England, public utilities, and an emerging technology developer which is focusing on an integrated portfolio of replicable, grid-benefitting technologies across the region. The project is intended to include new and upgraded points of interconnection (POIs) for offshore wind and a long-duration energy storage system to increase electric reliability and resilience, diversify New England's resource mix, accelerate the region's clean energy transition, reduce energy burden on consumers, and deliver innovative models for further investments in New England and other regions.
- Project: Power Up New England
- Applicant/Selectee: Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
- Federal cost share: $389,345,755
- Recipient cost share: $499,212,688
- Project location: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont
- Project type: Transmission and Storage
Montana Department of Commerce
The North Plains Connector Interregional Innovation (NPCII) project will build a 3,000 MW High-Voltage Direct Current Voltage Source Converter (HVDC-VSC) transmission line, bridging the Western and Eastern Interconnections. The core project, North Plains Connector, would be the first HVDC project to connect three regional control entities: the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), and Southwest Power Pool (SPP).
- Project: North Plains Connector Interregional Innovation (NPCII)
- Applicant/Selectee: Montana Department of Commerce
- Federal cost share: $700,000,000
- Recipient cost share: $2,899,540,962
- Project location: Montana, North Dakota
- Project type: Transmission
New York Power Authority
The New York Power Authority's project Clean Path New York is an underground and underwater High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission line that is intended to deliver 1,300 MW of renewable energy from upstate and western New York to New York City. The project, one of the largest transmission projects contracted by the State of New York in 50 years, establishes a public-private partnership between New York Power Authority, Invenergy, and EnergyRe that is intended to fortify the resilience of NYC's electric grid which is serving 20 million people daily. The project is advertised to deliver enough zero-carbon electricity to power 15% of NYC's annual consumption.
- Project: Transforming the Empire State: Clean Path New York
- Applicant/Selectee: New York Power Authority
- Federal cost share: $30,000,000
- Recipient cost share: $3,209,440,351
- Project location: New York
- Project type: Transmission
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and State Energy Office
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality State Energy Office, in partnership with Duke Energy, will implement advanced transmission technology to meet growing electricity demand in eastern North Carolina and improve reliability. The North Carolina Innovative Transmission Rebuild project will reconstruct the Lee-Milburnie 230 kV transmission line, incorporating high-temperature, low-sag advanced conductors and monopole steel structures that will enhance resilience and reliability within the existing right-of-way.
- Project: North Carolina Innovative Transmission Rebuild
- Applicant/Selectee: North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality State Energy Office
- Federal cost share: $57,099,386
- Recipient cost share: $57,099,386
- Project location: North Carolina
- Project type: Transmission
Redwood Coast Energy Authority
The Tribal Energy Resilience and Sovereignty (TERAS) Project will assist 4 Tribes in Northern California—the Hoopa Valley, Yurok, Karuk, and Blue Lake Rancheria Tribes— in developing Tribe-owned and -operated nested microgrids. This system, per DOE, will transform an outage-prone area through the deployment of reliable, resilient, community-led energy systems. TERAS will utilize innovative technology, advance Tribal Energy Sovereignty, create durable and lasting change in disadvantaged and vulnerable communities, and develop a replicable public-private partnership model for equitable and community-driven grid modernization.
- Project: Tribal Energy Resilience and Sovereignty (TERAS) Project
- Applicant/Selectee: Redwood Coast Energy Authority
- Federal cost share: $87,629,455
- Recipient cost share: $88,971,068
- Project location: California
- Project type: Microgrids
Utah Office of Energy Development
The Utah Office of Energy Development's Reliable Electric Lines: Infrastructure Expansion Framework (Project RELIEF) will install advanced conductor cables to significantly boost transmission capacity using existing rights-of-way, which will improve grid reliability for 700,000 utility customers across 4 states and 5 tribal nations and enable the integration of more than 500 MW of renewable energy.
- Project: Reliable Electric Lines: Infrastructure Expansion Framework (Project RELIEF)
- Applicant/Selectee: Utah Office of Energy Development
- Federal cost share: $249,557,047
- Recipient cost share: $252,030,385
- Project location: Utah, Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona, California
- Project type:Transmission
Virginia Department of Energy
The Virginia Department of Energy, along with its partners, will implement Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) technology at the Iron Mountain data center in Virginia, and has plans to deploy a combination of turbine, solar PV, and BESS technologies at the Grace Complex in South Carolina.
- Project: Data Center Flexibility as a Grid Enhancing Technology
- Applicant/Selectee: Virginia Department of Energy
- Federal cost share: $85,433,351
- Recipient cost share: $106,046,099
- Project location: Virginia and South Carolina
- Project type: Transmission & Distribution
Projects To Date
Through the first and second rounds of GRIP funding, per the DOE, the GDO has announced $5.7 billion in funding for 65 selected projects.
Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants
- First round selected on October 18, 2023
| APPLICANT/SELECTEE | PROJECT | FEDERAL COST SHARE | RECIPIENT COST SHARE | STATUS | ROUND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumers Energy | Sectionalization and Circuit Improvements to Mitigate Outage Impacts for Disadvantaged Communities | $100,000,000 | $100,310,996 | Selected | First |
| Electric Power Board of Chattanooga | EPB Chattanooga Grid Resiliency Upgrades: Network Conversions & Microgrids | $32,375,691 | $32,375,691 | Selected | First |
| Entergy New Orleans, LLC (ENO) | Line Hardening and Battery Microgrid in New Orleans, LA | $54,828,178 | $54,828,178 | Selected | First |
| Fort Pierce Utilities Authority | Mitigating Impacts of Extreme Weather and Natural Disasters Through Increased Grid Resiliency | $5,828,993 | $2,907,882 | Selected | First |
| Hawaiian Electric Company Inc. | Climate Adaption Resilience Program | $95,313,716 | $95,313,718 | Selected | First |
| Holy Cross Energy | Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks (WARN) | $99,328,430 | $45,762,816 | Selected | First |
| Jamestown Board of Public Utilities | Jamestown Board of Public Utilities Microgrid | $17,377,945 | $5,792,648 | Selected | First |
| Kit Carson Electric Cooperative | Building a Modern, Intelligent Distributed BESS for Resiliency in Northern New Mexico | $15,430,118 | $7,715,580 | Selected | First |
| Midwest Energy, Inc. | Transmission Line Rebuild/Replacement for Wildlife Mitigation and Renewable Resource Access | $96,942,707 | $47,717,412 | Selected | First |
| Mora-San Miguel Electric Cooperative, Inc. | Three-Part Wildfire Damage Mitigation Project | $11,270,193 | $3,756,731 | Selected | First |
| PacifiCorp | PacifiCorp's Equity-aware Enhancement of Grid Resiliency | $99,633,723 | $106,105,519 | Selected | First |
| PECO Energy Company (PECO) | Creating a Resilient, Equitable, and Accessible Transformation in Energy for Greater Philadelphia (CREATE) | $100,000,000 | $156,761,176 | Selected | First |
| Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative | SMECO Transmission, Distribution, and Communications Resiliency Initiative | $33,567,016 | $15,642,000 | Selected | First |
| Sumter Electric Cooperative, Inc. d/b/a SECO Energy | Improving Reliability Through Grid Hardening | $52,857,560 | $17,619,190 | Selected | First |
| Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc. (TCE) | Tri-County Power Meter Squared & Green Tree | $4,665,803 | $2,332,903 | Awarded | First |
| Xcel Energy Services, Inc. | Wildfire Mitigation and Extreme Weather Resilience for Xcel Energy | $100,000,000 | $142,020,463 | Selected | First |
Smart Grid Grants
- First round selected on October 18, 2023
| APPLICANT/SELECTEE | PROJECT | FEDERAL COST SHARE | RECIPIENT COST SHARE | STATUS | ROUND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algonquin Power Fund America Inc. | Enabling the Clean Energy Transition by Enhancing Grid Stability Using SmartValve Technology | $42,905,918 | $42,905,918 | Withdrawn – 5/28/24 | First |
| Allete Inc. | Minnesota Power HVDC Terminal Expansion Capability | $50,000,000 | $54,116,574 | Selected | First |
| American Electric Power Service Corporation | AEPAdvance Distribution Management System and Distributed Energy Resource Management System (ADMS & DERMS) Initiative | $27,849,763 | $27,849,763 | Selected | First |
| Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative Corporation | Beyond AMI to True Grid Intelligence with Distribution Automation | $18,304,363 | $18,310,825 | Selected | First |
| Burlington Electric Department | Building Grid-Edge Integration and Aggregation Network of Thermal Storage (GIANTS) | $1,158,695 | $1,160,000 | Selected | First |
| Central Maine Power | Enhancing Utility Resilience in America's Most Forested State | $30,306,795 | $30,306,795 | Selected | First |
| City of Lake Worth | System Hardening and Reliability Improvement Program (SHRIP) | $23,462,167 | $23,462,167 | Selected | First |
| City of Naperville | Distributed Energy Resource Management System Implementation & Integrations | $1,116,174 | $1,116,174 | Awarded | First |
| Commonwealth Edison Company | Deployment of a Community-Oriented Interoperable Control Framework for Aggregating and Integrating Distributed Energy Resources and Other Grid-Edge Devices | $50,000,000 | $66,000,000 | Selected | First |
| CPS Energy | Community Energy Resiliency Program | $30,227,710 | $30,227,710 | Awarded | First |
| DTE Electric Company | Deploying Adaptive Networked Microgrids to Improve Grid Flexibility and Reliability Project | $22,941,046 | $22,941,046 | Selected | First |
| Duquesne Light Company | Grid Visibility Program (GVP): Unlocking System-Wide Data to Build a More Resilient and Equitable Grid | $19,724,715 | $20,215,000 | Selected | First |
| Electric Power Research Institute Inc. | Optimizing Interregional Transfer Capacity Using Advanced Power Flow Control | $18,017,358 | $18,017,358 | Selected | First |
| The Empire District Electric Company (d/b/a Liberty) | Project DA: Distribution Automation Deployment in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma | $47,491,810 | $47,491,810 | Selected | First |
| Florida Power & Light (FPL) | Smart Grid Manhole and Vault Monitoring Project | $30,363,088 | $36,738,088 | Selected | First |
| Generac Grid Services | Accelerating Building Thermal Electrification While Managing System Impacts | $49,835,370 | $52,939,597 | Selected | First |
| Liberty Utilities (CalPeco Electric), LLC | Project Leapfrog | $13,071,300 | $13,071,300 | Selected | First |
| Los Angeles Department of Water and Power | Expanding Distribution System Visibility and the Ability to Dispatch Distributed Energy Resources | $48,000,000 | $48,000,000 | Selected | First |
| Missoula Electric Cooperative, Inc. | Strategic Distribution System Modernization for Resilience and Wildfire Safety | $2,749,071 | $2,749,070 | Selected | First |
| National Grid USA Service Company, Inc. | The Future Grid Project | $49,642,758 | $89,371,000 | Awarded | First |
| Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E) | Adaptable Grid Project | $50,000,000 | $52,362,351 | Selected | First |
| PacifiCorp | Resiliency Enhancement for Fire mitigation and Operational Risk Management | $49,951,103 | $53,186,717 | Selected | First |
| Pecan Street Inc. | Seasonal Solar Congestion Management (SEASCOM) | $7,989,987 | $7,989,987 | Awarded | First |
| Portland General Electric Company | Accelerating and Deploying Grid-Edge Computing | $50,000,000 | $58,402,842 | Selected | First |
| PPL Electric Utilities Corporation | The Grid of the Future | $49,500,000 | $49,500,000 | Selected | First |
| Public Utility District 1 Of Snohomish County | Snohomish County Public Utility District's Secure Modern Automated and Reliable Technology Project (SnoSMART) | $30,000,000 | $30,000,000 | Selected | First |
| Rappahannock Electric Cooperative | Enabling EV and DER Adoption through DERMS, AMI, and Fiber Integration | $38,162,015 | $38,162,015 | Selected | First |
| Rhode Island Energy | Smart Grid for Smart Decarbonization: Deploying Advanced Technology for Smart Grid Investments | $50,000,000 | $235,047,477 | Selected | First |
| Sacramento Municipal Utility District | Connected Clean PowerCity | $50,000,000 | $106,164,172 | Selected | First |
| Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation (SYEMC) | Grid Deployment to Support Rural-Focused Resiliency at a Small-Scale Electric Co-op | $7,486,808 | $7,700,738 | Selected | First |
| Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association | Cooperative Energy Ecosystem | $26,798,344 | $26,798,344 | Selected | First |
| UMS Group | Advanced Solutions for Wildfire Mitigation | $38,480,244 | $38,480,244 | Selected | First |
| Union Electric Company (Ameren Missouri) | Rural Modernization | $47,130,781 | $54,009,248 | Selected | First |
| Virginia Electric and Power Co. (Dominion Energy Virginia) | Analytics and Control for Driving Capital Efficiency Project | $33,654,095 | $33,654,095 | Selected | First |
Grid Innovation Program
- Second round selected on August 6, 2024
- First round selected on October 18, 2023
| APPLICANT/SELECTEE | PROJECT | FEDERAL COST SHARE | RECIPIENT COST SHARE | STATUS | ROUND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Energy Authority | Railbelt Innovative Resiliency Project | $206,500,000 | $206,500,000 | Awarded | First |
| California Energy Commission | CHARGE 2T: CaliforniaHarnessing Advanced ReliableGrid Enhancing Technologies for Transmission | $600,561,319 | $900,841,978 | Selected | Second |
| City of Kaukauna | Kaukauna Utilities Grid Resilience Project | $3,012,462 | $3,012,462 | Selected | First |
| Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon | Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (CTWS) and Portland General Electric (PGE) Regional 500kV Transmission Innovative Partnership | $250,000,000 | $363,953,472 | Selected | First |
| Georgia Environmental Finance Authority | Regional Grid Improvements to Address Reliability in Georgia with a Focus on Remote or Hard-to-Reach Communities | $249,129,382 | $258,010,362 | Selected | First |
| Hawai'i State Energy Office (HESO) and Hawai'i Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism | Enabling High Penetration of Renewables with Synchronous Condenser Conversion Technology (SCCT) | $1,675,000 | $1,675,000 | Selected | First |
| Hawai'i State Energy Office (HESO) and Hawai'i Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism | Utility Solar Grid Forming Technology (USGFT) | $16,250,000 | $16,250,000 | Selected | First |
| Louisiana Department of Natural Resources | State of Louisiana: Louisiana Hubs for Energy Resilient Operations (HERO) Project | $249,329,483 | $249,329,483 | Selected | First |
| Massachusetts Department ofEnergy Resources | Power Up New England | $389,345,755 | $499,212,688 | Selected | Second |
| Minnesota Department of Commerce | Joint Targeted Interconnection Queue Transmission Study Process and Portfolio | $464,000,000 | $1,300,000,000 | Selected | First |
| Montana Department of Commerce |
North Plains Connector Interregional Innovation | $700,000,000 | $2,899,540,962 | Selected | Second |
| New York Power Authority | Transforming the Empire State: Clean Path New York | $30,000,000 | $3,209,440,351 | Selected | Second |
| North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and StateEnergy Office | North Carolina InnovativeTransmission Rebuild | $57,099,386 | $57,099,386 | Selected | Second |
| Redwood Coast Energy Authority | Tribal Energy Resilience and Sovereignty (TERAS) Project | $87,629,455 | $88,971,068 | Selected | Second |
| Utah Office of Energy Development | Reliable Electric Lines:Infrastructure ExpansionFramework (Project RELIEF) | $249,557,047 | $252,030,385 | Selected | Second |
| Virginia Department of Energy | Data Center Flexibility as a Grid Enhancing Technology | $85,433,351 | $106,046,099 | Selected | Second |
Green Spouts: While some might espouse the theory that these grants are politically motivated in an election year, the reality on the ground is that real dollars are being provided to multiple states and communities to help support their efforts in investing in and rebuilding the electric grid and in creating more resiliency in the grid which has for decades been ignored.
Duane Morris has an active ESG and Sustainability Team to help organizations and individuals plan, respond to, and execute on your Sustainability and ESG planning and initiatives. For more information, please contact Brad A. Molotsky, David Amerikaner, Sheila Rafferty-Wiggins, Alice Shanahan, Jeff Hamera, Nanette Heide, Jolie-Anne Ansley, Robert Montejo or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.
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