$8B in Transmission Loans for Clean Energy Projects
On April 27, the Department of Energy announced $8.25 billion in loans available for transmission projects. A story published today at utilitydive.com covered these highlights and detailed more.
- The total loan amount includes up to $5 billion in loan guarantees for innovative transmission projects, as well as up to $3.25 billion in the Western Area Power Administration’s (WAPA) transmission infrastructure fund. The WAPA revolving loan program is designed to promote clean power in the West.
- Also on Tuesday, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid (ACEG) published a report highlighting 22 different transmission projects that are considered “shovel-ready” and will add renewable energy to the U.S. grid.
- The White House simultaneously released a fact sheet on the coordinated efforts between DOE and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to modernize the electric grid. The fact sheet cites the independent analysis in the ACEG report as proof that construction-ready transmission projects would bring more than 60 GW of renewable energy online.
The Biden administration is working toward a promise of 100% clean energy by 2035. Expanding transmission to deliver renewable energy is a critical part of that effort and one on which Irby is currently working in Maine.
Irby’s work in a joint venture with Cianbro Corporation for Central Maine Power is a great example of the type of work achieving the Biden Administration’s goal will require. The New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) project is a $950 million investment that will deliver 1,200 megawatts of renewable hydropower to the New England energy grid, bringing clean energy to 1.2 million households. In April 2020, the Irby Cianbro team was awarded a 145-mile transmission line project from Avangrid.
