Iowa snagged nearly $12 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to "strengthen the grid against severe weather," one of seven states, three tribal nations and the District of Columbia to receive a total of $77 million.
Supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the federal grid resiliency grants are designed to "help modernize the electric grid to reduce impacts of extreme weather and natural disasters, while also ensuring power sector reliability," the Department of Energy said.
"This historic funding is helping deliver on the president’s goal of ensuring all communities have access to affordable, reliable, 100% clean electricity," the agency said.
Iowa Economic Development Authority will administer the state's $11.8 million federal grant, seeking competing project proposals that "will facilitate faster service restoration, provide benefits to vulnerable and disadvantaged populations to reduce the impact of severe weather-related outages, and expand opportunities for a skilled workforce to secure and retain quality jobs."
“As climate change threats intensify and we add more renewable energy to our power system, it is critical that the American people have a safe and resilient electric grid,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in a statement Friday.
Over the next five years, the federal government will distribute a total of $2.3 billion to strengthen the U.S. electrical grid. The grants are based on a formula that includes factors such as population size, land area, probability and severity of disruptive events, and an area's historical expenditures on mitigation efforts. This is the second round of grant awards.
Friday's awards were the second round of grants provided.
In addition to Iowa and the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin received federal grid grants as well as the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, the Mohegan Tribe and the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa snagged a nearly $12M federal grant to strengthen its power grid