Biden administration offers $8.25 bln in loans for power grid

The department is making financing available for projects that improve resilience and expand transmission capacity across the grid, “so we can reliably move clean energy from places where it’s produced to places where it’s needed most,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.

The financing will be available in two pools. The Loans Program office at the Energy Department is seeking applications for up to $5 billion in loan guarantees to support innovative transmission projects, along with transmission projects owned by federally recognized tribal nations or Alaska Native Corporations. Those projects will include high voltage lines, transmission to connect offshore wind, and facilities sited along rail and highway routes.

Up to $3.25 billion will be available from the Western Area Power Administration’s Transmission Infrastructure Program revolving loan program. The federal debt financing program is congressionally mandated to support transmission and related infrastructure projects that facilitate the delivery of clean power in the U.S. West.