Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Governor Hochul Announces $22 Million is Now Available to Strengthen and Modernize New York’s Electric Grid

High voltage electric power lines

New Competitive Program Supports Projects that Help Ensure Reliability of Infrastructure and Expand Access to Clean Energy

New York Also Awarded Additional $11.5 Million in U.S. Department of Energy Formula Grant Funding 


Governor Kathy Hochul announced $22 million is now available for projects that strengthen and modernize New York’s electric grid. Funded by a U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Grid Resilience Formula Grant, the State’s new competitive grid modernization program supports projects that help to ensure the reliability of infrastructure and expand access to clean energy for New Yorkers, supporting the transition to a zero-emission electricity system. Additionally, the Governor also announced that in October, New York State was awarded an additional $11.5 million under the federal formula grant program to supplement this initial phase of funding.

“New York’s grid infrastructure is the backbone of energy distribution and we must maintain its reliability and resiliency to withstand extreme weather events,” Governor Hochul said. “This federal formula grant complements ongoing State investments to meet the growing energy needs of families and businesses in our communities.”

The new grid modernization program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), provides funding to municipal utilities, rural cooperatives, or consortiums that apply on their behalf, and small electricity providers that sell no more than 4,000,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity per year for projects that strengthen the capacity of New York State’s grid systems to prepare for future extreme weather events. Proposals must meet all federal requirements, including at least a one-third cost share, and include direct and quantifiable energy, environmental, and economic benefits to New York State such as emissions reductions, job creation, product manufacturing and sales, energy efficiency, or reduced electric costs for proposed site locations.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “NYSERDA is pleased to offer this new grid modernization program with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to municipal electric systems and rural cooperatives interested in advancing projects that strengthen and enhance grid resiliency. We look forward to working with future partners to deliver projects that help provide clean energy to New Yorkers and support the State’s transition to a modern, zero-emission electric grid.”

Eligible project types will advance modern, resilient grid technologies that can withstand extreme weather events and include:

  • Adaptive protection, advanced modeling, and monitoring control technologies.
  • Installing advanced conductors, including low sag advanced conductors, or replacing old overhead conductors and underground cables.
  • Using or constructing distributed energy resources (DER) to enhance adaptive capacity during a disruptive event.
  • Weatherization technologies and equipment.

Proposers must select one project type per application. Proposals will be accepted through 3 p.m. on February 12, 2025. More information about this solicitation is available on NYSERDA’s website.

NYSERDA also offers $3.5 million in technical assistance to support the development of grid modernization proposals for this solicitation. The technical assistance is available on a first come, first served basis for a one-time maximum award of up to $200,000 per applicant. It can be used to support the technical analyses needed to evaluate potential projects, grant writing assistance for implementation funding, and development of a metrics reporting system to evaluate project success.

Building on the funding awarded last year, New York was recently awarded an additional $11.5 million in grant funding that is expected to become available to municipal electric systems and rural cooperatives in the summer of 2025. New York is one of nine states and five tribal nations that were awarded a combined total of $125 million as the seventh cohort of Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants and will provide 15 percent matching funds through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative as part of DOE's grant requirements. To learn more, visit NYSERDA’s website and DOE’s Grid Deployment Office’s website.

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