Department of Energy adds Grid Deployment, State and Community Energy Programs offices to push clean power deployment

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) formed two new offices this week — the Grid Deployment Office and the Office of State and Community Energy Programs — to utilize more than $23 billion in investments and modernize and expand the capacity of the American power grid and clean energy.

“DOE is moving faster than ever to modernize and upgrade America’s energy infrastructure so that more families and communities can take hold of the benefits that clean, affordable, and reliable energy sources offer,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “The new offices announced today will help ensure that the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides states, Tribes, and territories with the best practices and proven approaches to drive down energy costs for American households and deliver cleaner air for their communities.”

The Grid Deployment Office will pursue ways to improve electricity delivery and reliability while modernizing and upgrading the electrical grid and critical facilities. It will oversee the investment of $17 billion into programs and projects focused on the demands of national transmission, distribution, and clean generation, as well as efforts to maintain nuclear power plants and upgrade hydropower facilities.

The DOE noted that independent research concluded that electricity transmission systems must expand an estimated 60 percent by 2030 to keep up with growing electricity and cheaper, cleaner power needs. Those needs are only expected to grow from there.

On the other hand, the Office of State and Community Energy Programs will focus nearly $6 billion in grants on clean energy and slashing energy costs to drive economic development. Its projects will expand existing programs in the DOE and develop newly-funded programs to advance state and community-led efforts on efficiency improvements and the rollout of renewable energy. It will also guarantee that 40 percent of clean energy investment benefits go to disadvantaged communities and those disproportionately hit by the impacts of climate change, in line with President Joe Biden’s Justice40 initiative.

Director Henry McKoy will lead the Office of State and Community Energy Programs, while Director Maria Robinson will helm the Grid Deployment Office.

These offices will work under the DOE’s Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure and utilize funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance the Biden administration’s goal of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035, on the road to a net zero economy by 2050.