Transmission Projects

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided a total of $11 billion for transmission activities and modernizing the electric grid. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability received $4.5 billion of this amount. These funds will be invested in a nationwide effort to modernize the electric grid to create a newer, smarter system that will allow for broader use of alternative energy, enhance the security of our energy infrastructure and ensure reliable electricity delivery to meet growing demand. These dollars will be issued primarily through a competitive bid process managed directly by the DOE. State energy offices, such as the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO), will not receive funding through these grants.

The DOE anticipates that the majority of these ARRA funds will support smart grid programs and technologies. The ARRA directed funds to be used on the following specific activities: $100 million for workforce training, $80 million to conduct a resource assessment and an analysis of future demand and transmission requirements and $10 million for the development of interoperability standards for smart grid devices. Visit http://www.oe.energy.gov for more information.

The remainder of the funding provided by the ARRA for transmission activities is associated with the federal Power Marketing Administrations, self-contained entities within the DOE. Among these is the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), one of Colorado’s three primary developers of transmission. WAPA has been given spending authority for $3.25 billion of the ARRA funds. For the first time WAPA has the authority to construct transmission solely for the delivery of power generated from renewable energy. Projects selected by WAPA to receive ARRA monies must repay the U.S. Treasury with interest, and must be distinct from current projects. Visit http://www.wapa.gov for more information.

The GEO does not anticipate receiving direct ARRA funding for transmission. However, the GEO is working to identify ARRA and other opportunities for investment in Colorado through the Renewable Energy Development Infrastructure (REDI) project.