The U.S. Dept. of Energy is seeking input before it launches a $2.3-billion grant program for power grid resilience funded under the new federal infrastructure spending law. It will provide up to $459 million annually over five years to states and tribes to help fund projects to modernize transmission systems and strengthening them against hazards such as extreme weather, wildfires and other disasters.
官员们说，在过去的20年中，与恶劣天气相关的美国停电增加了一倍，自追踪于2013年开始以来，失败的频率和长度都达到了最高水平。
State and tribal governments that receive funding through the program can allocate the money to entities such as electricity generators and electric grid operators for various projects that include hardening power lines, moving them underground, adding weatherization and fire-resistance technologies, and replacement of old overhead conductors.
基金可以用于分布式建设energy resources such as microgrids, or toward battery-storage facility construction, but only if it would be used to enhance adaptive capacity during disruptive events. The grants will not fund construction of a new electric generating facility or cybersecurity investment.
DOE will administer the grant program its “Building a Better Grid” initiative, which is aimed at boosting development of upgraded high-capacity electricity transmission lines. In a statement, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said a modernized grid “is the linchpin” of President Joe Biden’s renewable energy goals.
拜登政府还希望通过寻找包括历史上代表性不足的社区在内的接收者来促进赠款资金公平。
DOE发行了请求的信息from potential grant recipients, asking them to share feedback on possible application challenges, technical support needed and data sources that may help inform the department’s award formula.
Draft documents about the program are available on the能源部网站。该部门将在下午2点举行有关该计划的公共网络研讨会。ET 5月5日，将通过电子邮件40101formulagrants@hq.doe.gov接受至6月27日的评论。
Correction: The total funding for the grant program was revised on April 29 to $2.3 billion from $2.5 billion based on corrected information provided by the U.S. Energy Dept.
