Biden administration offers $8.25 B in loans for power grid
USA, Washington D.C.: The US Energy Department said on 27 April it is offering up to $8.25 B in loans for companies to boost the power grid.
Image source: Reuters
USA, Washington D.C.: The US Energy Department said on 27 April it is offering up to $8.25 B in loans for companies to boost the power grid.
It is a part of the Biden administration’s goal to set the country on a path to 100 % clean energy by 2035.
The department is making financing available for projects that improve resilience and expand transmission capacity across the grid, “so we can reliably move clean energy from places where it’s produced to places where it’s needed most,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.
The financing will be available in two pools. The Loan Programs Office, or LPO, at the Energy Department is seeking applications for up to $5 B in loan guarantees to support innovative transmission projects, along with transmission projects owned by federally recognized tribal nations or Alaska Native Corporations.
Those projects will include high-voltage lines, transmission to connect offshore wind, and facilities sited along rail and highway routes.
Up to $3.25 B will be available from the Western Area Power Administration‘s Transmission Infrastructure Program revolving loan program. The LPO has more than $40 B in funds left over after the financing went mostly unused during the Trump administration. The Transportation Department issued guidelines to help state governments host transmission lines, build renewable energy projects, deploy broadband and support electric vehicle charging along highway rights-of-way.
The guidance “will help states use their rights-of-way to expand clean energy, lower costs, and create good-paying jobs in their communities,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Today’s actions can provide a model for our private partners, like railroads, to do the same.”
Source: Reuters