Xcel Energy earns $100M grant from U.S. DOE for wildfire, grid resilience efforts
Among the $3.5 billion recently announced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the benefit of the grid, Xcel Energy will receive $100 million to improve both its wildfire mitigation work and grid resiliency in its service area.
Funds were provided through the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program and will be matched by a $140 million cost share provided by Xcel itself. With climate change have come increased environmental effects on the grid – frequent and more severe. Wildfire seasons have become year-long struggles, storms are picking up pace and more. As a result, Xcel Energy plans to push new projects in Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas and Wisconsin to improve resiliency overall.
“We recognize that the year-round risk of wildfires has grown, along with the severity of storms and other weather events that threaten the grid,” said Bob Frenzel, chairman, president and CEO of Xcel Energy. “This funding from the Department of Energy will enhance our ability to meet this rising challenge with decisive action while reducing carbon emissions and ensuring reliable affordable and clean power for our customers.”
Since 2019, the company reported investments of more than $450 million into wildfire mitigation strategies in Colorado alone.
New projects are expected to run for five years, although the details of design and planning won’t likely begin until next year. Projects themselves should be completed by late 2028.
Once they get underway, these projects will include measures such as adding fire-resistant coatings to wood poles, improving equipment safety features in power lines and electric vehicle chargers, undergrounding high-risk distribution circuits and improving vegetation management. Drones could be increasingly used to inspect power lines for safety, and other measures such as wind strength testing, satellite identification of tree risks and fire spread modeling software could all be expanded.
Some funds will also be used to invest in customer-funded microgrids in Minneapolis to bolster underserved communities of color.
