To share how historic levels of federal and private investment are positively impacting communities across the country, this monthly newsletter showcases grid projects that have successfully completed award negotiations and are beginning work.
October 4, 2024
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Updates on Finalized GDO Project Awards
In 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law made a historic investment to expand and modernize this country’s critical electric infrastructure, and in 2022 the Inflation Reduction Act added to that investment. Since then, the Grid Deployment Office (GDO) has been rolling out innovative programs and funding mechanisms rooted in meaningful stakeholder and community engagement to drive widespread infrastructure improvements, accelerating access to clean, affordable energy, good-paying jobs, and economic benefits to communities across the country.
To share how historic levels of federal and private investment are positively impacting communities across the country, this monthly newsletter showcases grid projects that have successfully completed award negotiations and are beginning work.
This month’s roundup of finalized awards includes projects from:
Fiscal Year 2024 Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grant Awards
The Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants program is designed to strengthen and modernize America’s power grid against wildfires, extreme weather, and other natural disasters that are exacerbated by the climate crisis.
The program distributes funding to states, territories, and federally recognized Indian Tribes, including Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village Corporations, over five years based on a formula that includes factors such as population size, land area, probability and severity of disruptive events, and a locality’s historical expenditures on mitigation efforts. The states, territories, and Tribes then award these funds to a diverse set of projects, with priority given to efforts that generate the greatest community benefit providing clean, affordable, and reliable energy.
As of September 13, 2024, GDO has awarded the following fiscal year 2024 awards.
Highlighted Projects
STATE EDUCATION AND CONVENING
Program: Wholesale Electricity Market Studies and Engagement Program (WEMSE)
Recipient: National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO)
Federal funding: $3 million
Total project cost: $3 million
The National Association of State Energy Offices (NASEO) will inform State Energy Offices on regional wholesale market design and how they impact resilience and resource adequacy through the development of materials, trainings, and convenings. This educational initiative will enable states outside of a Regional Transmission Operator/Independent System Operator to understand policy decisions in these markets with regional reliability and resource adequacy implications, enable decision-makers, such as State Energy Offices, to understand and evaluate different proposed market structures and resource adequacy constructs and how market constructs implemented in the future could affect state and regional goals, and more.
WILDFIRE MITIGATION
Program: GRIP: Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants
Recipient: Holy Cross Energy
Federal funding: $99,328,430
Total project cost: $145,091,246
Holy Cross Energy, in conjunction with NRECA Research, will launch a wildfire mitigation project with a consortium of 39 small, rural, not-for-profit electric cooperatives (co-ops) in high-threat areas. The Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks (WARN) project will enable co-op consortium members to harden their networks by utilizing existing methods and advanced technologies to reduce wildfires and increase wildfire resilience. WARN will provide co-op grid designers with an analysis tool that quantitatively reveals the expected direct impacts of utility-ignited wildfires to the regional electricity supply and the local community, such as loss of property and natural and community resources.
REPLACEMENT OF OLD OVERHEAD CONDUCTORS & UNDERGROUND CABLES
Program: Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants
Recipient: Kansas Corporation Commission
Subrecipient: Pioneer Electric Company
Federal funding: $3,259,551
Total project cost: $4,835,000
Pioneer Electric Company (PEC) will replace approximately 20 miles of aging power lines, many of which date back to original construction in the 1950s. It will also conduct proactive pole testing and replace up to 1,280 poles to reduce outages from wind damage, a growing challenge associated with increased dry rot in poles brought on by drought conditions (the most common type of environmental hazard to cause failures on PEC's system). Finally, PEC will encourage faster dispatch and response times by deploying a drone for monitoring the distribution system, reducing the need for vehicles to reach difficult to access areas to assess damage. Using a drone will also allow PEC to investigate lines without disturbing the habitat of the native Lesser Prairie Chicken, a threatened species in Kansas.
View full list of Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grant awards.
BACK-UP POWER SYSTEM DEPLOYMENT FOR TRIBES
Program: Grid Resilience Analysis and Climate Change Impacts (GRACI) Program
Recipient: Creation Energy, LLC
Federal funding: $500,000
Creation Energy will improve the resilience of tribal critical facilities by developing templates and guides to assist Tribes in using grid resilience funds to equip critical facilities with back-up power. This will include the development of standard design packages and guides to assist Tribes with the installation of battery and inverter equipment, including battery sizing tools, equipment specifications, legal and contractual templates, and an interface for engaging with utilities to help improve grid operations as well critical facility backup. The designs will be ‘solar ready’ for anyone who desires to add solar to these projects. This approach will provide a pathway for distributed energy resources that creates clean, resilient energy for critical buildings but can also help support the grid to improve power factor and balance loads for Tribes and their utilities as they continue to pursue advanced electrification.
List of Projects
The following projects completed award negotiations before September 16, 2024. To learn more about past projects, read the August newsletter.
The Grid Resilience Analysis and Climate Change Impacts (GRACI) program will assemble a consortium of universities, non-profit, and for-profit organizations to provide technical assistance to grant recipients of the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants Program. This funding opportunity will identify regional experts to accelerate an analysis of climate change threats and impacts on electric grid infrastructure, including potential best practices for grid operations, investments, and engineering approaches.
| Awardee | Finalized Federal Award | Region | Technical Assistance Areas |
| Baringa | $950,000 | West and Mountain West | Vulnerability Assessments & Investment Prioritization |
| Creation Energy, LLC | $500,000 | Nationwide | Back-up Power System Deployment for Tribes |
| Pointerra | $1,630,000 | Northeast | Grid Resilience Investment Valuation |
The Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program is a $10.5 billion investment into critical grid infrastructure to deliver affordable, clean energy to American communities, prepare for extreme weather impacts from climate change, and meet energy goals. The GRIP Program includes three funding mechanisms: Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants, Smart Grid Grants, and the Grid Innovation Program.
| Applicant/Selectee | Finalized Federal Award | Total Project Cost | Program |
| Burlington Electric Department | $1,158,695 | $2,318,695 | Smart Grid Grants |
| Holy Cross Energy | $99,328,430 | $145,091,246 | Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants |
| Jamestown Board of Public Utilities | $17,377,945 | $23,170,593 | Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants |
| Los Angeles Department of Water and Power | $48,000,000 | $96,000,000 | Smart Grid Grants |
| Mora-San Miguel Electric Cooperative, Inc. | $11,270,193 | $15,026,924 | Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants |
| Public Utility District 1 Of Snohomish County | $30,000,000 | $60,000,000 | Smart Grid Grants |
| Virginia Electric and Power Co. (Dominion Energy Virginia) | $33,654,095 | $67,308,190 | Smart Grid Grants |
| Awardee | Subrecipient | Federal Funding | Total Project Cost | Category |
| Citizen Potawatomi Nation | The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Electric Company | $1,102,495 | $1,704,235 | Undergrounding of Electrical Equipment |
| Colorado Energy Office / Colorado Resiliency Office | Delta Montrose Electric Association | $403,280 | $604,920 | Vegetation and Fuel-Load Management |
| Colorado Energy Office / Colorado Resiliency Office | Grand Valley Power | $164,616 | $219,489 | Undergrounding of Electrical Equipment |
| Colorado Energy Office / Colorado Resiliency Office | Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association | $450,000 | $600,000 | Replacement of Old Overhead Conductors & Underground Cables |
| Colorado Energy Office / Colorado Resiliency Office | Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association | $625,056 | $1,401,900 | Weatherization Technologies and Equipment |
| Colorado Energy Office / Colorado Resiliency Office | Town of Estes Park | $538,262 | $722,895 | Undergrounding of Electrical Equipment |
| Colorado Energy Office / Colorado Resiliency Office | Yampa Valley Electric Association (YVEA) | $998,937 | $1,331,916 | Fire-resistant Technologies and Fire Prevention Systems |
| Indiana Office of Energy Development | Carroll White REMC | $275,753 | $411,445 | Weatherization Technologies and Equipment |
| Indiana Office of Energy Development | Indiana Michigan Power | $1,230,027 | $2,655,316 | Monitoring and Control Technologies |
| Indiana Office of Energy Development | Indiana Municipal Power Agency | $118,182 | $255,125 | Monitoring and Control Technologies |
| Indiana Office of Energy Development | Johnson County REMC | $1,943,712 | $2,900,165 | Monitoring and Control Technologies |
| Indiana Office of Energy Development | Northeastern REMC | $1,999,898 | $2,984,000 | Monitoring and Control Technologies |
| Indiana Office of Energy Development | South Central Indiana REMC | $2,251,144 | $4,669,841 | Monitoring and Control Technologies |
| Indiana Office of Energy Development | Town of Centerville | $744,634 | $1,111,050 | Weatherization Technologies and Equipment |
| Indiana Office of Energy Development | Town of Middletown | $317,901 | $474,332 | Monitoring and Control Technologies |
| Kansas Corporation Commission | Pioneer Electric | $3,259,551 | $4,835,000 | Replacement of Old Overhead Conductors & Underground Cables |
| Metlakatla Indian Community | Metlakatla Power & Light | $278,016 | $370,689 | Vegetation and Fuel-Load Management |
| Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy | Cherryland Electric Cooperative | $265,282 | $407,778 | Monitoring and Control Technologies |
| Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy | City of Hart - Hart Energy | $228,668 | $351,797 | Utility Pole Management |
| Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy | Consumers Energy Company | $4,047,523 | $8,097,360 | Replacement of Old Overhead Conductors & Underground Cables |
| Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy | DTE Electric Company | $4,130,477 | $9,132,776 | Undergrounding of Electrical Equipment |
| Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy | Lansing Board of Water & Light | $1,962,025 | $2,970,900 | Utility Pole Management |
| Utah Office of Energy Development | Nephi Power | $1,620,420 | $3,240,840 | Adaptive Protection Technologies |
| Awardee | Federal Funding | Total Project Cost | Region of Research or Convening | Category |
| Cornell University | $1,900,000 | $2,000,000 | New York Independent System Operator (NYSIO) | Market Design and Price Formation |
| Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) | $1,566,075 | $1,648,500 | Southwest Power Pool (SPP) | Market Design and Price Formation |
| NASEO (National Association of State Energy Offices) | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | National | State Education and Convening |
| Penn State University | $815,959 | $858,945 | ISO-New England and PJM | Market Design and Price Formation |
| University of Texas at Arlington | $1,640,000 | $1,731,150 | Electric Reliability Corporation of Texas (ERCOT) | Integrating Aggregated Distributed Energy Resources (ADERS) |
| Western Power Pool | $1,750,000 | $4,754,806 | Western Interconnection | Regional Transmission Planning |