Initial list of high priority areas for accelerated transmission expansion in the US

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DOE Seeks Public Input on 10 Potential Sites, From Coast to Coast, That Offer an Urgent Need for Expanded Transmission, Announces New Funding to Deploy Cleaner, Cheaper, and Reliable Energy Nationwide

WASHINGTON, DC – In an ongoing effort to accelerate the buildout of a resilient and reliable electric grid, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released a preliminary list of ten potential energy companies. National Importance Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) to accelerate the development of transmission projects in areas where there is an urgent need for expanded transmission. DOE also announced minimum eligibility criteria for direct loans under the Transmission Facility Financing (TFF) program. Backed by President Biden's Investing in America agenda, the TFF program can finance the development of billions of dollars of transmission projects in designated NietCs. DOE is now seeking public input on both the preliminary list of potential NietCs and the TFF program application and evaluation process.

“Our power grid is more than a century old and is showing its age, leaving American consumers to bear the costs of maintaining it, with frequent and longer power outages due to extreme weather,” he said. U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The Biden-Harris Administration is using every tool to expand transmission and deploy more reliable, affordable and cleaner energy to all parts of the country.”

“To achieve our clean energy and climate goals, we must expand transmission as quickly as possible to get clean energy from where it is produced to where it is needed,” said John Podesta, senior advisor to the president for international climate policy. “As today's announcements demonstrate, the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to using every tool at our disposal to accelerate progress on transmission permitting and financing and build a clean energy future.”

“President Biden's leadership has led to an unprecedented expansion of American manufacturing and clean energy, and we are building out the nation's electric grid to keep pace with this historic growth,” he said. Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “Thanks to the President's vision, the United States is expected to build more new electricity generation capacity this year than we have in two decades – and 96 percent of it will be clean. Building on last month's launch of a public-private mobilization to expand the capacity of the existing U.S. transmission network, upgrading 100,000 miles of power lines, this step forward on corridors is the latest way the Biden-Harris administration accelerates network expansion to deliver reliable energy supplies. , affordable electricity throughout the country. This is how we win the future, by harnessing new technologies to grow our economy, create hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs and protect the planet for generations to come.”

Electrical transmission corridors of national importance

The President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law amended the Federal Power Act to clarify the Secretary of Energy's ability to designate any geographic area as a NietC if consumers are determined to be harmed now or in the future by a lack of transmission in the area and that the development of new transmission would advance important national interests for that region, such as increased reliability and lower consumer costs.

A NietC designation enables critical federal funding and tools to spur transmission development, including direct loans through the TFF program, public-private partnerships through the Transmission Facilitation Programand federal establishment and licensing authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in certain limited circumstances. Developers and state and local siting authorities may also be able to utilize the environmental review conducted by DOE as part of the NietC designation process to complete local siting and permitting processes, which will ultimately facilitate siting and permitting for transmission projects in these targeted , could accelerate high-value projects. priority areas.

DOE published final guidance on the NietC designation in December 2023 and initiated a four-phase process by inviting interested parties to propose specific geographic areas where a NietC designation could be particularly useful in facilitating transmission to address meet a significant regional need. After independent analysis and review of public input, DOE's preliminary list of potential NietCs includes 10 narrow geographic areas spanning nine of the regions identified by DOE's 2023 National Transmission Needs Survey.

The potential NietCs:

• Include one or more potential transmission projects currently in development whose implementation could be accelerated by the tools unlocked by the UITC designation.
• Range in width from less than a mile to nearly 100 miles and in length from 12 to 780 miles.
• Often parallel existing rights of way, such as national highways and high-voltage lines.
• Have the potential to facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy, including offshore wind energy in the Atlantic Ocean.
• Provide the opportunity to increase transmission capacity between the Eastern and Western Interconnections – two otherwise largely disconnected networks.

The preliminary list includes maps of every potential NietC. The cards should be seen as rough approximations. The geographic boundaries of a potential NietC moving forward in the designation process may ultimately differ from what is presented in the preliminary listing. Today's announcement does not indicate a final NietC.

Today's announcement initiates Phase 2 of the UITC designation process, including opening a 45-day period for public comment on the geographic boundaries and the potential impacts of the UITC designation on the environment, community and other resources. For example, interested parties can provide information about the location of wetlands, recreational areas, historic properties, homes, businesses, abandoned mines and/or croplands.

The public comment period closes at 5:00 PM ET on June 24, 2024. Entries must be made via email [email protected]. An informational webinar will take place on May 16, 2024 at 3:30 PM ET.Registration is required.

After Phase 2, DOE will prioritize which potential UITCs from the preliminary list will move into Phase 3, during which DOE will prepare NietC designation reports, conduct environmental assessments, continue government-to-government consultations with all affected Tribal Nations as appropriate, and participate in robust public engagement. DOE expects to announce the narrowed list of potential NietCs and initiate Phase 3 in fall 2024.

Transmission Facilities Financing Program

The TFF program provides direct loans for eligible transmission projects within a NietC. The Inflation Reduction Act released $2 billion that could cover the credit subsidy costs of these loans, unlocking billions in total loan volumes under the program. DOE is currently seeking public input on the scope of eligible projects and project financing requirements, including feedback from utilities and project developers interested in seeking direct loan assistance through the program for a specific project in or near one of the potential UITCs.

Parties interested in commenting, including utilities and project developers, are encouraged to contact DOE at [email protected] no later than July 31, 2024, to register input. DOE expects to open the TFF program in 2025.

Learn more about the Grid implementation agency.

Thanks to U.S. DOE.