US DoE launches ‘Building a Better Grid’ modernisation initiative

The “Building a Better Grid” Initiative has been launched by the US Department of Energy (DoE) to speed up the modernisation of the country’s energy transmission infrastructure.

The aim is to make sure energy goals set under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are met.

The initiative will support the upgrading of existing and development of new long-distance and high voltage transmission lines.

The DoE says the initiative will help enhance the resilience of the US grid against climate change and improve access to reliable, clean and affordable electricity for consumers.

The department says the modernisation initiative will help increase the number of jobs within the energy transmission segment from the current 1 million.

Projects to be implemented as part of the initiative will help the US to meet its goal of having 100% clean energy on the grid by 2035 and achieving a zero-emissions economy by 2050, according to a statement.

The project will enable collaboration between the DoE, states, tribal nations and utilities, communities and industry stakeholders to identify transmissions needs and on the development of high-capacity lines that will be able to transport an increasing amount of renewables as more and more distributed resources are deployed across the US.

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The initiative will enable more than $20 billion in federal funding to be directed the modernisation of the network: Up to $2.5 billion will be sourced from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, $3 billion will be directed towards the expansion of the Smart Grid Investment Grant Programme and more than $10 billion in grants issued to states, utilities and tribes for grid resilience initiatives.

The launch of the initiative comes at a time experts in the US suggest that the transmission network will need to be expanded by 60% by 2030 and by three times by 2050 to accommodate all the rapid changes happening within the energy sector, according to a DoE statement.

With over 70% of the US network now aged and over 25 years, modernisation is critical for simplified integration with modern technologies and to ensure resilience against harsh weather events.

Jennifer M. Granholm, US secretary of Energy said: “The foundation of our climate and clean energy goals is a safe, reliable, and resilient electric grid that is planned hand-in-hand with community partners and industry stakeholders.

“DOE’s new Building a Better Grid initiative is a job booster spurred by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and collaboration with communities to upgrade the nation’s grid, connect more Americans to clean electricity and broadband, and reliably move clean energy to where it’s needed most.” 

US Representative Kathy Castor, Chair, House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis added modernisation will help: “communities lower costs with the transition to a resilient and clean energy economy…”