As far as regional rivalries go, competition among U.S. states to lead the way on clean energy, efficiency and smart grid tech could be one of the more productive ones. Today the Obama administration gave a few points to states on the Western team, opting to use the annual meeting of the Western Governors’ Association in Park City, Utah, to announce the launch of several big stimulus programs designed to help states ready their electricity networks and transmission infrastructure for smart grid technology and renewable energy.
Applicants have between now and the end of the summer (as little as six weeks for one program) to put together requests for a total of more than $150 million in grants for analyzing transmission upgrades as well as hiring and training staff to work with smart grid technology, renewable energy feeding into the grid and cybersecurity.
The largest chunk announced today, $60 million, is for long-term planning for the electricity supply in each of the country’s three power networks, or interconnections: Western, Eastern and Texas. Another $20 million will go toward transmission and demand analysis by national lab researchers and the North American Reliability Corp. (NERC). In addition, $50 million is set to go to state utility regulators, in an estimated 51 different grants of between about $764,000 and $1.7 million. Applications are due by August 31.
via Stimulus Funds Open Up for State Grid Projects, Training.
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