Missouri, North Carolina, and three tribal nations receive grid resilience grants
Two states and three tribal nations will receive a combined total of $34 million as the fifth cohort of Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced.
The grants — supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered by DOE’s Grid Deployment Office — will help modernize the electric grid to reduce impacts of climate-driven extreme weather and natural disasters. Further, the funding will ensure all communities have access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity. Since May 2023, DOE has distributed more than $407 million in Grid Resilience Formula Grants.
“Every community deserves a strong and reliable energy grid that can deploy cleaner, cheaper power to homes and businesses, while keeping their lights on during extreme weather,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “Thanks to the transformative investments in grid infrastructure under President Biden’s Investing in America agenda we are strengthening America’s workforce and preparing the nation for a more resilient, clean energy future.”
The award winners include the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, which got a grant of $194,000. The funding will be used to ensure critical Tribal facilities are not impacted by extreme weather events and will address the energy burden experienced by low-income Tribal members and disadvantaged Tribal communities.
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians also received $229,000. They will use the grant to reduce the impact of disruptive events on critical Tribal facilities serving Tribal citizens and will improve and update infrastructure and communications to enhance local grid control.
The third tribal group receiving grant money is the Washoe Tribe of Nevada & California. The $1.3 million will be used to ensure that Tribal members and the Tribe’s critical community facilities are not impacted by weather events. The grant will also support modernizing grid infrastructure and investments in clean energy.
In addition, the state of Missouri was awarded $13.8 million. This will be used to produce measurable improvements in resilience and reliability for small and disadvantaged communities while incorporating demand-side management to optimize resilience investments.
Finally, North Carolina was awarded $18.5 million to support and deploy grid modernization technologies that strengthen resilience and increase the flexibility of the grid while improving energy reliability in disadvantaged communities.
Over the next five years, the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants will distribute a total of $2.3 billion to States, Territories, and federally recognized tribes. Grant recipients are being announced on a rolling basis as applications are received.
