PROVIDENCE – A proposal from the New England states has secured $389 million in federal funding to bolster offshore wind transmission and improve energy storage across the region, Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s office announced Tuesday.
The funding, administered through the U.S. Department of Energy’s $10.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program, will be used to upgrade points of interconnection in southeast Massachusetts and southeast Connecticut to prepare the onshore transmission system for up to 4,800 megawatts of additional offshore wind and a multiday battery energy storage system in northern Maine to improve grid resilience and the delivery of renewable energy.
"This federal funding award is critical to advancing New England's offshore wind opportunities, improving our regional energy system and aligning with our Act on Climate clean energy development objectives," McKee said. "I am so proud of the strong collaboration by the New England state energy offices in securing these federal funds for our collective consumers, which will provide long-term benefits."
The Power Up New England proposal was submitted by the R.I. Office of Energy Resources, Conn. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Maine Governor’s Energy Office, the Mass. Department of Energy Resources, the N.H. Department of Energy, and the Vt. Department of Public Service into the second round of DOE’s GIP in April. The application was supported by Power Up’s project developers Form Energy, Eversource Energy and National Grid.
"The Power Up New England award from the U.S. Department of Energy marks an important milestone in Rhode Island and New England's development of offshore wind and battery energy storage opportunities,” said Acting R.I. Office of Energy Resources Commissioner Chris Kearns. "These federal funds will help secure long-term improvements to our region's energy system for consumers, help accelerate the development of offshore wind and advance our respective states' climate goals.”
The GIP program funds projects that improve grid reliability and resilience using advanced technologies and innovative partnerships and approaches.
The maximum award per project is $250 million, or $1 billion for a project with significant transmission investment, which Power Up features. In the first round of GIP, only one project received an award greater than $250 million.
