The US Department of Energy (DOE) said Thursday it plans to support 31 power grid projects across 26 states with a total investment of $5.25 billion, including $1.9 billion in federal funding, to expand grid capacity and improve reliability.
The projects, selected under the department’s Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades (SPARK) initiative, will receive $1.9 billion in federal funding from the DOE and $3.35 billion in recipient cost-share funding.
The investments aim to improve grid reliability and lower electricity costs for approximately 100 million Americans.
Project recipients are expected to reconductor or rebuild more than 1,500 miles of transmission lines and deploy Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs) across nearly 21,000 miles.
Together, these efforts will make over 23 gigawatts of additional electricity capacity available.
“Today’s announcement reinforces the Trump Administration’s commitment to commonsense energy addition policies that lower electricity prices and strengthen our grid,” US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in the statement.
“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,” he added.
- Projects to accelerate grid upgrades
The projects will use reconductoring, which involves replacing existing power lines with higher-capacity conductors, alongside other advanced transmission technologies to expand grid capacity and improve operational efficiency.
According to the department, using existing rights-of-way could help address transmission congestion while avoiding the costs and lengthy development periods associated with building new transmission corridors.
The projects are also expected to strengthen grid resilience against wildfires, power outages and severe weather events.
According to the department, the strategy is expected to shorten the multi-decade timelines typically required to build entirely new transmission corridors and accelerate grid upgrades.
By Duygu Alhan
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
