Rhode Island Energy to receive $50M in federal funding to modernize grid

Rhode Island Energy – 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 meant to optimize the use of distributed energy resources (DERs) to improve electric system reliability and resilience.

The project is intended to lead to greater development and adoption of decarbonized resources, such as solar and energy storage.

The U.S. DOE announced the awards Oct. 18. 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.

National Grid is a co-host developer at GridTECH Connect Forum Northeast, October 23-25, 2023, in Newport, Rhode Island.

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.

The Future Grid Project will deploy digital technology solutions at locations 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.

Through the project, National Grid hopes 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.

DER for Reliability is an educational track at DISTRIBUTECH International, set for Orlando, Florida February 26-29, 2024.

GRIP Program

DOE’s GRIP program funding, announced this week, began with a $3.46 billion investment for 58 projects across 44 states to strengthen electric grid resilience and reliability, invest in microgrids, and enable more renewable energy generation across America.

Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these projects will leverage more than $8 billion in federal and private investments to deliver clean electricity and ensure the grid is prepared for extreme weather worsened by the climate crisis.

The program funds activities meant to modernize the electric grid to reduce the impacts of natural disasters and extreme weather worsened by climate change; increase the flexibility, efficiency, and reliability of the electric power system with a particular focus on unlocking more solar, wind, and other clean energy and reducing faults that may lead to wildfires; and improve reliability by deploying innovative approaches to electricity transmission, storage, and distribution.