NC Allocated $18.5M in Grid Resilience Formula Grant Funding
NC Allocated $18.5M in Grid Resilience Formula Grant Funding
On Aug. 3, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Grid Deployment Office (GDO) announced a fifth installment of Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants(or “Grid Resilience Formula Grants”) funding for an additional two states and three tribal nations in a combined total of $34 million. ElectriCities’ members were included in that cohort, as the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) was allocated $18.5 million. Previously, South Carolina received a $10.4 million allocation.
Since May 2023, DOE’s GDO has distributed $407 million in Grid Resilience Formula Grants by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). These grants will modernize the electric grid to reduce impacts due to extreme weather and natural disasters and ensure the reliability of the power sector’s infrastructure for improved access to affordable, reliable, and clean electricity.
Over the next five years, DOE will distribute a total of $2.3 billion to states, territories, and federally recognized tribes, 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. States, territories, and tribes will then award these funds to complete a diverse set of projects, with priority given to efforts that generate the greatest community benefit while providing clean, affordable, and reliable energy. Award recipients for the first two fiscal years of funding are being announced on a rolling basis.
Impact on Your Community’s Infrastructure Projects – In the coming months, NCDEQ will hold a competitive selection process to distribute approximately $18.5 million in funding to projects that:
Support and deploy grid modernization technologies that strengthen resilience and increase the flexibility of the grid;
Improve energy reliability and resilience in disadvantaged communities, which are more impacted by outages and subject to higher energy burdens; and
Commit to equitable workforce development through projects that attract, train, and retain an appropriately skilled workforce.
Interested members should start considering potential projects that align with the program’s requirements and goals and be on the lookout for future announcements about NCDEQ’s grid resilience grant competition.
