Energy Department Awards $2.5M to Accelerate Transmission, Lower Energy Costs, and Maintain a Reliable and Resilient Grid

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Electricity today announced an investment of $2.5 million through the Transmission Acceleration Grants (TAG) program to Johns Hopkins University and Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission. Projects selected for this investment are focused on expanding grid capacity to maintain a reliable and resilient grid while reducing the need for new construction and lowering electricity costs for consumers. Today's announcement marks another step towards enhancing grid reliability and making energy more affordable for families and business.

"Electricity demand must soar to keep up with ever expanding data center and manufacturing growth," said Katie Jereza, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Electricity, U.S. Department of Energy. "It is no exaggeration, the next decade of American competitiveness will be decided by the reliability of power, the affordability of that power, and the speed at which we can bring that power online. Our investment in these two projects leverages existing resources to support capacity building and local and regional transmission planning."

The selected projects are:

• Johns Hopkins University's Leadership in Innovations for Grid High-voltage Transmission for States (LIGHTS). The project team will analyze the potential for deploying Alternative Transmission Technologies (ATTs) like dynamic line ratings, advanced power flow control, and high-performance conductors, to better utilize existing transmission rights-of-way (ROWs) in PJM's interconnection footprint, which includes 13 states and the District of Columbia. The LIGHTS project will develop a replicable framework to identify ATT candidate projects that could meet state transmission needs in a more cost-effective manner.
• Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission's Pennsylvania Accelerated Transmission and Energy Redevelopment (PATER) Study. The project team will conduct a two-part resource adequacy study to identify opportunities to upgrade transmission infrastructure at 20 different under-utilized points of interconnection to support data center growth in Pennsylvania. The PATER study could serve as a model for other states seeking to identify corridors for transmission infrastructure upgrades in the most cost-effective manner.

The Transmission Acceleration Grants (TAG) program was created in response to feedback from State and Tribal entities facing growing transmission needs and project backlogs, and is designed to support local and regional transmission planning as well as siting and permitting process reforms. On average, Federal permitting for a new electric transmission line takes approximately four years.

Funded by the Office of Electricity, the TAG program is managed by TECHWERX through a unique Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA) established by DOE's Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC). This innovative agreement enables TECHWERX to expand DOE's collaboration with non-traditional partners and innovative organizations, accelerating the development, scaling, and deployment of solutions.

Learn more about the Office of Electricity.