Funds will be used towards $140 Million project cost to implement innovative
new technology to provide better grid control, allowing for greater
distributed energy resource flexibility
WALTHAM,
Mass. and BROOKLYN,
N.Y., Oct. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/
-- National Grid has been awarded a $50
million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a
project that will deploy digital technology to optimize the use of
distributed energy resources (DERs) to improve electric system
reliability and resilience. The project is ultimately expected to
lead to greater development and adoption of decarbonized resources,
such as solar and energy storage.
The U.S. DOE announced the awards yesterday. National Grid's
proposal, called the Future Grid Project, was chosen from among
more than 100 proposals submitted by utilities, industry, academia,
and state entities from across the country. This federal funding
opportunity is part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
enacted in 2021 under the Grid Resilience and Innovative
Partnerships (GRIP) Program. The total cost for the Future Grid
project is about $140 million. The
federal funds will supplement a $90
million investment by National Grid.
"This is a tremendous win for our customers in Massachusetts and New York," said Stephen Woerner, President of National Grid, New
England. "As we strive to accelerate the clean energy transition,
the advanced software technology we've proposed will not only allow
for faster and easier integration of decarbonized resources but
also will unlock the full value of these resources for the benefit
of our customers and the grid. We thank the Department of Energy
for their support and look forward to rolling up our sleeves and
getting to work."
"The Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law is about to
supercharge National Grid's efforts to modernize our electric
infrastructure, helping integrate more clean energy, and making our
power grid more resilient," said U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New
York. "When I led the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs
Law to passage, it was the win-win-win of life-saving investments
in grid resilience, creating good paying jobs, and that promoting
clean energy that I had top of mind. I am proud to help deliver
this major federal investment to power Upstate NY's clean energy
future and power the future of New
York's electric infrastructure New Yorkers."
"Improving reliability and resilience of our electric grid is
foundational to addressing climate change and building our clean
energy future," said U.S. Rep. Paul
Tonko of New York. "In
Congress, I've spearheaded efforts to support grid modernization,
including in our Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and
following my call to the Department of Energy to support National
Grid's project, I'm thrilled to see that push paying dividends now
with this award. This Future Grid project will help us meet our
decarbonization goals and create clean energy jobs while also
ensuring affordable electricity services for New Yorkers and
critically disadvantaged communities across the state. My gratitude
to all involved in this worthy project."
"I voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to do more than
rebuilding the roads, bridges, and water systems we depend on. We
passed it to also make long overdue investments in upgrading our
electric grid to deploy green energy, increase resiliency, reduce
outages, and lower prices for hardworking families," said
U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan of
Massachusetts. "With
this significant federal award for National Grid, that means
Massachusetts families will
benefit directly once again from this landmark law."
"Clean distributed energy technologies offer tremendous benefit
for ratepayers in Massachusetts,"
said Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony. "Our climate goals demand a
future-ready electric grid to integrate an increasing amount of
renewable energy generation. Grid enhancing technologies like those
provided by the Future Grid Project will support a clean energy
grid and reduce the need for expensive traditional grid
upgrades."
The Future Grid Project will deploy digital technology solutions
at locations specifically targeted to benefit disadvantaged
communities in New York and
Massachusetts to improve electric
system reliability and resilience and bring more clean energy
resources to those areas.
The project is expected to maximize the value of DERs through
advanced network management, resource orchestration, and control.
The project will build upon foundational grid modernization
investments currently being implemented in electric service
territories in New York and
Massachusetts, including advanced
metering infrastructure, advanced distribution management systems,
distributed energy resource management systems, and more. The
Future Grid project is expected to expand training and
pre-apprenticeship programs in partnership with several local
community-serving institutes.
About National Grid
National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and
clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people
through our networks in New York
and Massachusetts. National Grid
is focused on building a smarter, stronger, cleaner energy future —
transforming our networks with more reliable and resilient energy
solutions to meet state climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.
For more information, please visit our website, follow us
on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, like us
on Facebook and find us on Instagram.
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SOURCE National Grid