The Biden Administration announced it is putting $3.46 billion into improving the strength and resiliency of the United States' electric grid.
The Biden Administration is putting almost $3.5 billion into improving the strength and resiliency of the United States' electric grid, government officials said on Wednesday., which President Joe Biden signed in November 2021, and Wednesday's announcement marks the first round of funding out of $10.5 billion that was allocated as part of the
"Right now, the U.S. electric grid is the largest connected machine in the world. It's 5.7 million miles of transmission and distribution with about 55,000 substations," Jennifer M. Granholm, secretary of the U.S. department of energy, said on a conference call with reporters on Wednesday.
The program marking federal funding for upgrading the electric grid was popular — the Department of Energy received 700 concept papers or letters of interest from all over the country, a senior administration official told reporters. From there, 300 applications were encouraged to go on to the next stage of the application process and then 58 were ultimately selected.
In Oregon, the funding will improve transmission capacity so that 1,800 megawatts of solar capacity east of the Cascade Mountains, where it is currently not connected to customer demand, can get to utility customers. Also in Oregon, PacifiCorp will make improvements to its electric grid that will strengthen grid infrastructure against fires and floods.