From the Houston Chronicle: DOE awards $3.5 billion to strengthen grid, with 4 projects in Texas

Another example of fiscal federalism

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Texas is set to receive tens of millions of dollars in funding toward expanding and hardening its power grid, as the Biden administration seeks to rapidly shift the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels. The administration announced Tuesday up to $3.5 billion in funding for 58 projects across 44 states, with four projects at least in some part in Texas. 

“There is a tidal wave of clean energy investment coming,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said. “The grid as it currently sits is not equipped to handle all the new demand.”

Among the projects in Texas are San Antonio utility CPS Energy’s $32 million planned construction of microgrids based around solar and battery energy. And Minnesota-based Xcel Energy, which operates across eight states and has power plants, wind farms and transmission lines in Texas, was awarded $142 million to strengthen its system against extreme weather and wildfire.

The funding stems from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Congress passed in 2021 for the construction of everything from bridges to broadband service. The Department of Energy received approximately 700 letters of interest for the funding, with the largest project selected, worth $1.3 billion, to build five transmission projects across seven Midwestern states.

“This was a very popular program,” said one senior administration official. “There will be future (funding) rounds, and we’re looking forward to having more conversations with utilities, technology firms and states.”

The resilience of the U.S. power grid has fallen into increasing question in recent years, with large scale blackouts like that which swept Texas in 2021 during Winter Storm Uri.

Earlier this year, Jim Robb, president of the regulatory body North American Electric Reliability Corp., said the combination of extreme weather and the retirement of coal and gas plants pushed out by low cost wind and solar energy represented a growing threat to the power grid.