Biden Administration Announces $2 Billion in Funds to Strengthen Electric Grid

The Biden administration on Friday announced $2 billion in funding for projects to strengthen the U.S. grid’s resilience against extreme weather, a growing concern after two consecutive major Atlantic hurricanes.

The funding, which will go to 38 projects in 42 states, will be provided through the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program, a $10.5 billion initiative included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021, Energy Department officials said to reporters by phone.

Projects range from installing new power lines to adding protections for wildfire infrastructure in fire-prone regions. They would create about 300 miles of new power lines and 7.5 gigawatts of new electrical capacity, officials said.

Although the GRIP program predates hurricanes Helene and Milton, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on the call specifically invoked the storms, which devastated parts of western North Carolina and Florida, respectively. Projects covered by the funding include programs to strengthen the grid system in those areas, as well as a $250 million grant that would allow the Tennessee Valley Authority to add an additional 2,400 megawatts of transmission capacity.

“The devastating and deadly hurricanes Helene and Milton clearly showed how extreme weather events continue to overwhelm the nation’s aging electrical systems; But across the country, the Biden-Harris administration is using every tool available to ensure that America’s power grid is strengthened in the face of this challenge,” Granholm said. “The administration’s Investing in America agenda has delivered the largest grid investment in U.S. history, helping us add more energy to the grid faster, improve reliability and resiliency, and invest in innovative technologies so that customers across the world county can access more renewable energy and pay less for electricity.”

The announcement follows a report from the International Energy Agency that projected electricity demand will grow at a faster rate than previous projections, largely due to increased demand from data centers.

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