This week, a coalition of New England states jointly announced steps to pursue federal funding to encourage transmission infrastructure investment and environmental protection. In concept papers recently filed with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont requested DOE support for innovative electricity transmission proposals that would grow the region’s supply of clean, reliable, and affordable energy. In response to the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s call to spur innovations in energy grid infrastructure, the New England states have coordinated with each other and ISO New England, the power system operator for the region, to begin evaluating potential projects.
The states have embarked on the New England States Regional Transmission Initiative, a groundbreaking effort to explore investment in the electric transmission infrastructure needed to better integrate clean energy resources into the grid. By pursuing a regional approach, the states aim to optimize transmission infrastructure investments and provide benefits, including cost savings and winter reliability, for residents and businesses across all of New England. With potential for more than 14 gigawatts of offshore wind in federal waters off the coast of New England, the states have entered into a Joint State Innovation Partnership for Offshore Wind as part of a DOE competitive funding opportunity that will eventually award up to $250M per project for selected projects that implement innovative approaches to transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure to enhance grid resilience and reliability.
“New England is pioneering the innovative partnerships, technologies, and approaches the nation needs to modernize the transmission system, unlock clean energy, and ensure price stability and affordability by providing reliable clean electricity in the face of fossil fuel-driven price spikes and climate disruption,” said Commissioner Katie Dykes of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
