Administration announces $2.3 billion for States and Tribes to strengthen and modernize U.S. power grid
Department of Energy | 7/6/2022
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One July 6, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) opened the application period for States, Tribal nations, and territories to apply for the $2.3 billion formula grant program designed to strengthen and modernize
America’s power grid against wildfires, extreme weather, and other natural disasters exacerbated by the climate crisis. The Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid program is established by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered through DOE’s new Building a Better Grid Initiative.
The program will assist with projects that create good-paying jobs to deliver clean, affordable, and reliable energy to more Americans when needed — getting the nation closer to the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of a national
grid run on a 100% clean electricity by 2035.
“Every community deserves a strong and reliable energy grid that can deploy cleaner, cheaper power to homes and businesses,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to the transformative investments in grid infrastructure from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we can help protect our neighborhoods, main streets, and downtowns from grid shutdowns during
extreme weather events, while creating good-paying jobs in the process.”
Power outages from severe weather have doubled over the past two decades across the U.S. and the frequency and length of time for power failures has reached their highest levels since reliability tracking began in 2013 — with U.S. customers on average experiencing more than eight hours of outages in 2020.
The Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid formula grant program will provide $459 million annually to States and Tribal nations over an anticipated five-year period to improve the resilience of the electric grid against disruptive events. Grid resilience activities could include:
- Utility pole upkeep and removal of trees and other vegetation affecting grid performance
- Undergrounding electrical equipment
- Relocating or reconductoring powerlines
- Improvements to make the grid resistant to extreme weather
- Increasing fire resistant components
- Implementing monitoring, controls, and advanced modeling for real-time situational awareness
- Integrating distributed energy resources like microgrids and energy storage
Applicants will be asked to describe the concrete outcomes they intend to seek, and commit to specific progress metrics, such as reducing or shortening outages from severe events or by reducing risks to health and safety from such outages. The funding program will make awards to states, territories or tribes representing diverse sets of populations, including underserved and
disadvantaged communities, following through on the Biden Administration’s Justice40 commitment to provide 40% of the benefits from climate investments to frontline communities.
Under this program, priority will be given to projects that will generate the greatest community benefit, whether rural or urban, in reducing the likelihood and consequences of blackouts and power shutdowns because of extreme weather or other disruptive events like cyberattacks. Projects should also drive the creation of good-paying union jobs with a focus on high labor standards and
the free and fair chance for workers to join a union.
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REGISTER NOW
August 3-5, 2022
Salt Lake City Marriott University Park
Recognizing the opportunity to address goals shared broadly among U.S. Department of Energy program offices and in frontline communities across the federal nuclear complex, the Energy Communities Alliance will host the ECA Forum: Hosting New Nuclear Development on August 3-5,
2022 at the Salt Lake City Marriott University Park.
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SAVE OUR DATES
September 21-23, 2022
NEW VENUE: CRYSTAL GATEWAY MARRIOTT IN ARLINGTON, VA!
We are pleased to host the 2022 National Cleanup Workshop at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA. Join us to discuss a new era of cleanup success. Hear from senior DOE officials, local government officials, and industry leaders about DOE's cleanup priorities, the future of the workforce, and more.
Additional information on registration and hotel room blocks is available here. We look forward to seeing you in September!
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DOE to revise eligibility for Civil Nuclear Credit Program, extend submission deadline
DOE-NE | 6/30/2022
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced an amendment to the Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program Guidance for the currently open award cycle. To incorporate these changes and give potential applicants the time they
need to respond, DOE also extended the application period another 60 days to September 6, 2022.
The Amended Guidance revises the eligibility criteria to replace the requirement that a nuclear reactor applying for credits under the CNC Program not recover more than 50 percent of its costs from cost-of-service regulation or regulated contracts. This change affects the eligibility of reactors who may apply in the first round of awards.
The nation’s current fleet of reactors is a vital resource to achieve the Administration’s goal of net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050, which is key to reducing the harmful impacts of climate change.
“U.S. nuclear power plants are important clean energy assets and preserving our existing fleet will maintain nearly half a million good-paying jobs in the nuclear industry,” said Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Dr. Kathryn Huff. “The amended CNC Guidance supports the intent of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to keep the reactors online that sustain local economies and today provide our nation’s single largest
source of carbon-free electricity.”
Shifting energy markets and other factors have resulted in the early closures of 13 commercial reactors across the United States since 2013. This has led to a rise in carbon emissions in those regions, poorer air quality, and the loss of thousands of high-paying jobs, essential employers and financial contributors to local communities. The CNC Program will equitably address these challenges while supporting the President’s clean
energy goals to ensure that communities across the country continue to benefit from sustainable energy infrastructure.
This change made in the Amended Guidance was one of three requests by the Office of the Governor of California in a letter dated May 23, 2022. Considering this request’s potential applicability to reactors nationwide, DOE issued a proposed
Guidance Amendment for public comment on June 17, 2022. After assessing programmatic goals and public comments, DOE believes this change better supports the intent of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the goals of the CNC Program to keep clean, reliable electricity on the grid.
As many commenters urged, DOE is also announcing the extension of the due date for submission of applications and bids for the first CNC award cycle. Applications and bids are now due September 6, 2022, to provide potential applicants sufficient time to prepare submissions in accordance with the Amended Guidance.
DOE is committed to integrity and transparency throughout the implementation of the CNC Program. A record of public comments may be found here.
The first CNC award cycle prioritizes reactors that have already announced their intention to cease operations. Future CNC award cycles—including the second award cycle, to be launched in the first quarter of FY2023—will not be limited to nuclear reactors that have publicly announced their intentions to retire.
Learn more about the CNC Program, the CNC April 2022 Guidance, and the CNC June 2022 Amended Guidance. Applications for certification and sealed bids for credits for the first CNC award cycle must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time, September 6, 2022.
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Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
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ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments.
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