SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO— As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced that Puerto Rico will receive over $7.4 million through the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants. Supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered by DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, this grant will help modernize Puerto Rico’s electric grid to reduce impacts of climate-driven extreme weather and natural disasters while also enhancing power sector reliability. This investment – which is on top of the $1 billion Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund announced in February – will improve Puerto Rican communities’ access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity while helping deliver on the President’s ambitious clean energy goals.
” Access to reliable, affordable energy is akin to a basic right, and for too long Puerto Ricans have borne the burden of an unreliable grid,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, more funding is coming to Puerto Rico to help modernize its electric infrastructure and enhance energy resiliency all while creating good paying jobs in support of the Commonwealth’s goal of 100% renewable energy.”
The government of Puerto Rico plans to use this funding to help disadvantaged communities to determine their energy needs; provide resilient, cost-effective electricity to rural and/or remote communities; and create jobs and training opportunities for residents within disadvantaged communities in Puerto Rico.
DOE’s Continued Efforts to Rebuild and Modernize Puerto Rico’s Electric Grid
In October 2022, DOE announced the creation of the Puerto Rico Grid Recovery and Modernization Team to channel federal resources, technical assistance, and additional support for Puerto Rico. Last December, President Biden signed the FY 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act into law, which included $1 billion for the establishment of the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund to improve the resilience of Puerto Rico’s electric grid, with a focus on the region’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged households and communities. In January 2023, DOE and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released a one-year progress report for the Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100)—a community-driven and locally tailored roadmap to help Puerto Rico meet its target of 100% renewable electricity, improve power sector resiliency, and increase access to affordable renewable energy in the region. DOE will publish a final report on the PR100 Study in late 2023.
The Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants Program
Since May 2023, DOE has distributed $354 million in Grid Resilience Formula Grants to help modernize the electric grid to reduce impacts of climate-driven extreme weather and natural disasters while also ensuring power sector reliability. Over the next five years, the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants will distribute a total of $2.3 billion to states, territories, and federally recognized tribes, including Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village Corporations, based on a formula that includes factors such as population size, land area, probability and severity of disruptive events, and a locality’s historical expenditures on mitigation efforts. The states, territories, and tribes will then award these funds to complete a diverse set of projects, with priority given to efforts that generate the greatest community benefit while providing clean, affordable, and reliable energy.
Additional Grid Resilience Formula Grant recipients will be announced on a rolling basis in the coming months as applications are received. The fiscal year (FY) 22 and FY 23 application deadline for states and territories was May 31, 2023. The FY 22 and FY 23 application deadline for Indian tribes, including Alaska Native Corporations, is August 31, 2023, at 11:59 pm ET (with a mail-in option post-marked by this date).
Learn more about the Grid Deployment Office.
Originally published at https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-invests-over-7-million-improve-resilience-puerto-ricos
