Georgia receives over $500 million for electric grid project, DOE announces

On Wednesday, the Department of Energy said the Biden-Harris Administration announced $3.5 billion for America’s electric grid.

According to the DOE, it is the largest investment ever and Georgia is one of the recipients.

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As part of President Biden’s ‘Investing in America’ agenda, White House Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu and Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm announced $3.46 billion for 58 projects across 44 states to strengthen electric grid resilience and reliability across America.

According to the announcement, Georgia is receiving an estimated investment of more than $507 million.

The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority and the Family of Companies that support the Georgia electric cooperatives will collaborate on a project to benefit communities across the state through increased reliability and lower costs.

The project will make a comprehensive smart grid infrastructure update through investments in battery storage, local microgrids, and grid reliability, as well as new transmission lines.

The DOE said the project is expected to create more than 140 construction jobs and also improve service reliability, decrease the frequency and duration of power outages, and reduce energy bill strain on low-income households.

“Extreme weather events fueled by climate change will continue to strain the nation’s aging transmission systems, but President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will ensure America’s power grid can provide reliable, affordable power,” said Granholm.

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Granholm added that Wednesday’s announcement represented the largest direct investment in grid infrastructure.

“Today’s announcement represents the largest-ever direct investment in critical grid infrastructure, supporting projects that will harden systems, and improve energy reliability and affordability—all while generating union jobs for highly skilled workers,” said Granholm.

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