Biden Admin Awards Over $26 Million in Clean Energy Grants to US Projects
The funding consists of a number of grants that can go to 9 states, 27 native governments, and one tribe.
Clear vitality tasks throughout the nation are about to obtain a $26.9 million increase from the Biden Administration as a part of the newest spherical of grants from a renewable vitality program.
In response to a Could 1 press launch from the Division of Power, the funding consists of a number of grants that can go to 9 states, 27 native governments, and one tribe.
All the funding is supplied via the Power Effectivity and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG), which goals to help state, native, and tribal governments with initiatives to decrease fossil gasoline emissions and vitality use.
United States Secretary of Power Jennifer Granholm claims the EECBG grants will assist decrease energy and transition prices for communities throughout the nation.
“Power environment friendly upgrades are a surefire solution to convey down prices and shore up resiliency for communities throughout the nation,” she mentioned.
“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is equipping native governments with funds to rework clear vitality plans into actual actions that ship advantages in each nook of the nation.”
The latest grants are the fifth batch to be awarded underneath the EECBG program for the reason that preliminary awards have been introduced in October 2023. Total, Ms. Granholm says the EECBG will present over $430 million in formulation grant funding to greater than 2,700 entities together with states, territories, native governments, and tribes.
The grants cowl 14 eligible classes of fresh vitality tasks and packages, resembling EV charging infrastructure, creating e-bike incentive packages, and conducting municipal constructing vitality audits. Ms. Granholm says this system goals to assist deprived communities which are typically energy-burdened or left behind within the clear vitality transition.
The appliance deadline for eligible native governments, together with Puerto Rican municipalities, has been prolonged to Oct 31. The appliance deadline for tribes was prolonged to Could 31, 2025.
In February, the Biden administration introduced greater than $350 million for rural renewable vitality tasks.
Ms. Granholm mentioned on the time, the funding went to 17 tasks in 20 states and 30 tribal nations.
Threat of Electrical energy Shortfalls
A report from the North American Electrical Reliability Corp has classed many of the nation at excessive or elevated threat of electrical energy capability shortfalls over the subsequent decade as effectively.
In response to the 2023 report, vitality dangers are projected in areas the place the long run useful resource combine might fail to ship the mandatory provide of electrical energy underneath energy-constrained situations. The report says wind, photo voltaic, and different variable vitality useful resource (VER) mills are depending on the climate, and poor situations might additionally prohibit the supply of conventional fuels.
“For instance, subfreezing temperatures can create energy-limiting situations by disrupting the pure gasoline gasoline provides to mills, resulting in fuel-related derates or outages and probably inadequate electrical energy provide,” the report mentioned.
“Durations of low wind are one other instance of doubtless energy-constrained situations if the useful resource combine isn’t sufficiently balanced with dispatchable assets to forestall electrical energy shortfalls.”