FILE - Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks at McKinstry Aug. 15, 2023, in Seattle. The Biden administration on Oct. 18 announced $3.5 billion for 58 projects across the country to strengthen electric grid resilience. WASHINGTON — — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced $3.
The largest grant, $464 million, will go to improve five transmission projects across seven Midwestern states, from Iowa to North Dakota. The money includesin the wake of devastating wildfires this summer, and $150 million to PacifiCorp to upgrade the grid in California, Oregon, Utah and other states.
The nation's existing power grids are not built to handle the growing energy demand, a fact that is complicated by the intermittent nature of renewables, since energy isn’t generated when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind isn’t blowing. In Georgia, the state's environmental finance authority and companies that supports Georgia's electric cooperatives will team up on a project to upgrade the grid, including investments in battery storage, local microgrids, grid reliability and new transmission lines. The project will focus on remote, historically underinvested communities, Granholm said, including rural Locust Grove, Georgia, where she visited Wednesday as part of the grant rollout.