Arizona will get some of a billion dollar federal energy grant. Here's why

The U.S. Energy secretary on Monday announced Arizona is set to receive part of a $1.3 billion federal grant to boost the state's power systems in rural areas.

Speaking at the Apache Generating Station in Cochise County, Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the federal dollars will go toward funding for three transmission projects across the country. Included in the trio an effort in rural southern Arizona seeking to harden infrastructure against threats from climate change, potentially bringing thousands of jobs to the area.

The two other projects do not have an Arizona component. They include the Twin States Clean Energy Link, which will build a transmission line connecting Vermont to Canada, and the Cross-Tie Transmission project, which connects Utah and Nevada with a new transmission line.

The Arizona-based project includes the construction of a 175-mile transmission line from New Mexico to Pima County for the project’s first phase. The second phase will extend the transmission line to El Paso, Texas for a total of 278 miles.

“It boils down to three fundamental goals: Getting more power to more people in more places,” Granholm said.

The project, led by Southline Transmission in partnership with Grid United and others, is slated to bring 900 high-quality construction jobs and support 1,550 indirect jobs during the construction of the project. It's slated to generate a total of $109.5 million in tax revenue in Pima and Cochise counties, and New Mexico's Hidalgo County.

Construction is likely to begin in 2025, with the first phase operational by 2027. The second phase is slated to be completed by 2028.

According to the Biden administration, the project is likely to help lower energy costs and enable wind and solar resources from New Mexico to reach Arizona communities.

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Granholm joined Governor Katie Hobbs, U.S. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., and local leaders. They discussed the federal government’s commitment to improving the country’s transmission infrastructure, as extreme weather threatens the electrical grid’s aging systems.

Granholm said that the nation’s grid infrastructure has failed to keep pace with rising demand and climate change issues.

“The last thing we need is an outdated grid that's holding us back as the president's agenda is rolling us forward,” she said, noting new factories like the American Battery Factory in Tucson and the Maxeon Solar Panel Factory coming to New Mexico that will increase energy demand in the Southwest.

Hobbs said the investment is a boon for rural Arizona communities, who are often left out of big infrastructure projects.

Energy demand is increasing around the state as Arizona sees increases in population, new factories, and housing developments, and as the state experiences hotter summers. Arizona Public Services, the state’s largest utility company, predicted a peak of power demand at 8,000 megawatts in 2023. This summer, the demand peaked at 8,191 megawatts.

Isaac Phillips, the development director for Grid United, said the transmission line will allow additional resources to be brought in from other areas if extreme weather events bring down power plants.

In Arizona, demand for electricity has been growing, but supply has not. If large power plants go offline, or a natural disaster like a wildfire destroys a transmission line, backup power will be necessary.

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Maria Robinson, the director of the Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office, said this project was chosen because it met a significant need and had strong project partners.

It's among "the most congested corridors in the entire country,” she said, noting the need for transmission lines to meet the demand.

The project includes $4 million in investment into the local communities through donations, sponsorships, and partnerships with local organizations.

Funding for this project comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that provided $2.5 billion to the Transmission Facilitation Program, to help overcome the financial challenges to build new transmission lines and upgrade existing transmission lines.

Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com. The Republic’s coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Granholm unveils federal grant for Arizona energy transmission