The Energy Department on Friday announced $2 billion in grants to fund 32 grid improvement projects intended to protect against extreme weather and increase grid capacity.
The projects span 42 states and the District of Columbia and support activities such as mitigating wildfire risk and upgrading aging infrastructure. The department estimated that they would create nearly 6,000 jobs, with more than 80 percent of those jobs using International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers labor. The projects would also add 7.5 gigawatts of grid capacity, which the department said would speed up interconnection for new clean energy projects.
President Joe Biden previously announced six of the projects, which will be located in communities impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton, during his visit to Florida to survey damage on Oct. 13.
