The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) continues its financial commitment and physical expansion of the transmission infrastructure that's necessary to have a nationwide and fully reliable electricity grid for low-cost clean energy.
This latest investment, announced earlier this month, consists of a $1.5 billion infusion for four transmission projects, all of which are supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered through the DOE's Grid Deployment Office (GDO). The projects were selected for the Transmission Facilitation Program and will allow for the creation of almost 1,000 miles of new transmission deployment and 7,100 MW of new capacity throughout the following states: Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. An estimated 9,000 new jobs are also expected.
It should be noted that the Texas grid, for the first time ever, is being connected to the Southeast grids.
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“The U.S. transmission network is the backbone of our nation’s electricity system. Though our grid has served U.S. energy needs for more than a century, our country’s needs are changing,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk. “DOE’s approach to deploying near-term solutions and developing long-term planning tools will ensure our electric grid is more interconnected and resilient than ever before, while also supporting greater electricity demand."
Four newly-announced projects will enter capacity contract negotiations with DOE:
- Aroostook Renewable Project (Maine): A 111-mile transmission line with a capacity of 1,200 MW connecting a new substation in Haynesville, Maine, to the greater New England grid. Over 4,200 construction jobs and 30 permanent jobs will be created.
- Cimarron Link (Oklahoma): A 400-mile HVDC line will run from Texas County to Tulsa, resulting in 1,900 MW of clean wind and solar power to growing load centers in eastern Oklahoma and elsewhere in the Southwest Power Pool, creating 3,600 construction jobs and 20 permanent roles.
- Southern Spirit (Texas to Mississippi): A new 320-mile HVDC line will connect Texas’ ERCOT grid with the Southeast grids, providing 3,000 MW of bidirectional capacity across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. One of its primary goals is to prevent outages during extreme weather events, such as the ones during Winter Storm Uri that hit Texas in 2022. A total of 850 construction jobs and 305 permanent jobs are expected.
- Southline (New Mexico): A 108-mile transmission line will be installed, providing 1,000 MW of bidirectional capacity between Hidalgo County and Las Cruces. It will help meet the energy needs of industries investing in the region, including semiconductor, battery manufacturing, and data center facilities. At least 150 construction jobs will be added.
The DOE has also taken this opportunity to release its final National Transmission Planning (NTP) Study, defined as "a set of long-term planning tools and analyses that examine a wide range of potential future scenarios through 2050 to identify pathways to maintain grid reliability, increase resilience, and reduce costs, while meeting local, regional, interregional, and national interests and supporting the changing energy landscape.
The study's key conclusion is that the U.S. needs to approximately double to triple the 2020 transmission capacity by 2050 in order to meet growing demand and future energy needs. Further justification for the capacity expansion comes by way of hundreds of billions of dollars of cost savings of $270 billion to $490 billion through 2050.
The return on investment, the DOE claims, translates to every dollar spent on transmission comes to approximately $1.60 to $1.80 in system costs savings.
Cooperation between transmission regions should result in lowered system costs by $170 billion to $380 billion.