TVA and ten of our Local Power Company partners were selected to receive a $250 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program.
“I want to congratulate the FFPMO and TVA Transmission teams for their continued focus and hard work in securing this funding for TVA and the Valley,” said TVA VP of Innovation & Research Joe Hoagland. “This achievement would not have been possible without the supportive efforts and collaboration from multiple business units across TVA. This was truly an amazing TVA team effort that will bring lasting impacts to the Valley, enhancing grid resilience and supporting our mission to provide reliable, affordable energy to the communities we serve.”
The grant will fund 84 energy security projects to increase grid capacity, mitigate extreme weather risks, and more quicky bring clean energy projects onto the grid. Benefits include shorter outages and more access to clean energy for customers.
“We are excited that our coalition has been selected to begin negotiations with DOE’s Grid Deployment Office,” said CEO Jeff Lyash. “TVA is a clean energy leader, and as our dependency on clean electricity grows, this coalition will leverage this historic funding opportunity to accelerate the delivery of affordable, reliable, and carbon-free energy to the communities we serve.”
This community-centric investment will help increase grid capacity up to 2,400 megawatts, mitigate extreme weather risks, and speed development of thousands of megawatts of solar and up to 800-megawatts of wind power. These initiatives will have a direct benefit to the 360 disadvantaged communities across eight states. The people of the Valley region will also be positively impacted, as the grant’s work will create approximately 800 jobs over five years.
“This investment will improve the way we deliver clean energy, while driving greater regional economic prosperity,” said Jeff. “This is an opportunity to work together with LPC partners to transform our systems and continue our mission of powering growth across the region.”
LPC partners that are a part of the coalition include: Aberdeen Public Utilities; Amory Utilities; Athens Utilities Board; Franklin Electric Cooperative; Mountain Electric Cooperative; New Albany Light, Gas & Water; Okolona Electric Department; Philadelphia Utilities; Water Valley Electric Department; and City of West Point Electric System.
Our LPCs aren’t the only partners that will help us achieve success through the grant funding. Brent Hall, with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), voiced support for the GRIP projects and public power, noting that the IBEW will work closely with TVA and LPCs on the projects. Sean McGarvey, President of North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), said TVA’s selection for the grant will benefit not only ratepayers in the Valley region, but also the unionized workforce that strives every day to provide the region with the energy it needs.
Next steps in the GRIP process will include the FFPMO entering into negotiations with DOE where specific project milestones and details will be defined. This process will likely take several months before contracts can be signed to begin work.