The Biden-Harris administration launched the Federal-State Modern Grid Deployment Initiative to modernise the power grid by gathering the states, federal entities and stakeholders in the power sector.
The initiative aims “to accelerate improvements to the electric transmission and distribution network, which are critical to meeting the country’s objectives for affordable, clean, reliable, and resilient power”, according to a report published by the government on the initiative.
The report mentions that the states participating in the initiative must adhere to specific commitments to boost modern grid solutions. The report lists different commitments, such as mutual-federal state commitments, state commitments, and federal commitments.
There are currently 21 states participating in the initiative. They will receive backing from the federal government and opportunities to collaborate “to ensure collective progress toward these shared goals”, as per the report.
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The participating states have assented to prioritise efforts to implement modern grid solutions that will allow the expansion of grid capacity and the development of contemporary grid capabilities.
These capabilities are targeted for development on new and existing transmission and distribution lines.
The initiative aims to employ innovative technologies to help integrate renewables and other clean energy sources faster and at an effective price. The technologies planned to be deployed include conductors and grid-enhancing technologies.
The US Climate Alliance is working on making technical, analytical, and policy-related assistance available to the initiative’s members. The initiative announced marks another step by the US government to focus on strengthening its grid.
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The US government is spending billions to fortify its grid along with implementing policies and other laws such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.