The US Department of Energy’s (DoE) Office of Electricity plans to provide federal funding for 31 projects aimed at upgrading the electricity grid in 26 states, with a total investment of $5.25bn.
The initiative is called Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades (SPARK).
The pledged amount comprises $1.9bn in federal funding and $3.35bn from recipient cost-share, with the aim of improving grid reliability and reducing electricity costs for approximately 100 million people.
Recipients of funding are expected to reconductor or rebuild more than 1,500 miles of transmission lines and install grid-enhancing technology (GET) on almost 21,000 miles of grid infrastructure.
These combined efforts are set to deliver more than 23GW of additional electricity capacity.
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said: “Today’s announcement reinforces the Trump Administration’s commitment to commonsense energy addition policies that lower electricity prices and strengthen our grid.
“These investments will get more out of the infrastructure we already have, move more electricity across the grid, and help deliver affordable, reliable and secure power that will fuel American prosperity for decades to come.”
According to the DoE, the projects were selected following a Notice of Funding Opportunity that sought to drive investment in grid infrastructure to meet rising demand and maintain resource adequacy, while reducing costs for households and businesses.
The Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships programme, established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is providing the funding, part of up to $10.5bn in competitive support available over five years.
The DoE said it prioritised applications that showed how reconductoring, which replaces existing power lines with higher-capacity conductors, could boost transmission capability. It also focused on projects using advanced transmission technologies to improve system reliability while making use of existing rights of way.
Projects were chosen based on their potential to deliver rapid physical upgrades and operational gains.
The DoE stated that the SPARK programme aims to reduce electricity bottlenecks and operating expenses, avoid new greenfield construction, and help mitigate risks such as wildfires and blackouts.
SPARK is also expected to accelerate upgrades compared to building new grid transmission corridors.
The DoE is also releasing analysis of industry feedback collected through its Speed to Power Request for Information, which informed the SPARK programme’s design.
