New York Construction News staff writer
New York was awarded about $24 million in federal funding to strengthen and modernize the electric grid and reduce the impacts of extreme weather and natural disasters
“As we’ve seen, the severity of extreme weather events is not slowing down and requires ongoing preparation and the buildout of our infrastructure to minimize the impacts of climate change on communities,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “This funding underscores the benefits that New York’s productive partnership with the federal government continues to bring to the state and will help us modernize our electric grid and its associated infrastructure as part of future powered by clean energy.”
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) plans to launch a competitive selection process in the first quarter of 2024 for projects that include:
- Storm Hardening: improving the resilience of the electric grid against disruptive events such as power outages due to storms that impact critical operations;
- Predictive Analytics: development of advanced data and metrics to detect electric system conditions before they become issues to support system reliability and resiliency;
- Climate Justice: reducing carbon emissions to ensure benefits of investments flow to communities that are underserved, marginalized and overburdened by pollution;
- Energy Affordability: deploying tools and technologies and ensuring optimized utilization of resources and electricity grid assets to reduce total system costs and address the burden of inadequate electricity distribution infrastructure; and
- Job Creation: increasing access to NYSERDA’s comprehensive workforce development portfolio of services for skilled clean energy workers.
New York is one of nine states and five tribal nations that were awarded a combined total of $125 million as the seventh cohort of Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants and will provide 15 percent matching funds through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative as part of DOE’s grant requirements. To learn more, visit NYSERDA’s website and the Grid Deployment Office’s website.
“NYSERDA is pleased to implement this federal grid resilience grant that will provide an infusion of much-needed funding for critical grid infrastructure upgrades, helping offset the costs to New Yorkers while reducing instances of electricity disruption for consumers,” said NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris. “Through this funding, we look forward to supporting projects that advance the transition to a zero-emission electric grid, update current systems, and reduce emissions by bringing clean energy to communities across the state, including those traditionally overburdened by pollution.”
Funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered by DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants fund states, territories, and federally recognized Indian Tribes, including Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village Corporations, over five years 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.
