'Grid equity': DOE doles out $200M more in clean energy funds to boost grid 'reliability'

President Biden’s Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Thursday a third round of "Grid Resilience Formula Grants," this time to three tribal nations and nine states, in the amount of $200 million total.

DOE claimed in the press release announcing the grants that it will "modernize the electric grid" to combat climate change while simultaneously "ensuring power sector reliability."

One of the states receiving the federal funds is California, which is known for its rolling blackouts that are arguably exacerbated by Governor Gavin Newsom's "100% clean electricity" goal by 2045. Other states include Minnesota, Kansas, Michigan and five more. Native tribes Standing Rock Sioux, the Native Village of Eagle, and the Metlakatla Indian Community are also getting a portion of the money.

North American Electric Reliability Corporation's 2023 "Summer Reliability Assessment" estimated that at least two-thirds of the country is at risk of power outages due to Biden's war on fossil fuels.

Minnesota will reportedly use the grant to fund projects that "enhance equity by aligning with the Justice40 initiative," a Biden administration effort to direct 40% of "overall benefits" from federal investments to "disadvantaged communities."

Kansas will also gear the funds towards equitable ends, the DOE stated. The state will "promote grid equity" and "equitably" distribute the money to "rural, disadvantaged, and underserved communities" in particular.

The grants build on the $324 million the DOE has spent on the Biden initiative since May, which Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in DOE’s press release "will help modernize the electric grid to reduce impacts of extreme weather and natural disasters while enhancing power sector reliability."

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