The White House on Tuesday announced a new commitment with 21 states to expand the capacity of America’s power grid and modernize aging infrastructure – a move it says would facilitate the quicker integration of clean energy sources and lower utility costs for households. 

The new agreement, the administration said, could also help stave off power outages during extreme weather – such as the storms in Texas over the holiday weekend that left thousands without power as of Tuesday. 

What You Need To Know

  • The White House on Tuesday announced a new commitment with 21 states to expand the capacity of America’s power grid and modernize aging infrastructure – a move it says would facilitate the quicker integration of clean energy sources and lower utility costs for households
  • The new agreement, the administration said, could also help stave off power outages during extreme weather – such as the storms in Texas over the holiday weekend that left thousands without power on Tuesday 
  • As part of the new agreement, the states taking part are committing to prioritizing efforts to adopt such modern grid solutions as well as sharing successes and lessons with other states while the Biden administration is agreeing to make technical assistance programs available

With the initiative, the Biden administration is bringing federal and state entities as well as players within the power sector together in support of deploying modern grid technologies to bolster capacity. The White House noted that while in the past expanding capacity meant having to build new transmission lines, modern grid technologies that exist today, such as high-performance conductors, create additional and less time-consuming solutions. 

As part of the new agreement, the states taking part are committing to prioritizing efforts to adopt such modern grid solutions as well as sharing successes and lessons with other states. The Biden administration is agreeing to make technical assistance programs available. It will also ensure states are aware of the financial resources available to them while states are agreeing to maximize the use of such assistance. 

The 21 states that have signed on include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. 

The White House noted Tuesday’s announcement builds on recent actions by the administration to bolster the power grid, including announcing a rule to speed up permitting reviews for new transmission lines. Construction has already begun, it added, on ten transmission projects that are expected to add nearly 20 gigawatts of power to the grid. 

Meanwhile, earlier this month, federal energy regulators approved a long-awaited rule intended to streamline how power lines are sited and how costs are shared between states. It could accelerate construction of new transmission lines for wind, solar and other renewable power and add huge amounts of clean energy to the grid. 

The move seeks to address an expected surge in demand fueled by huge data centers, electrification of vehicles and buildings, artificial intelligence and other uses.

President Joe Biden has set a goal of a carbon-free power sector by 2035, and net-zero carbon emissions economy-wide by 2050.

To meet those targets, the U.S. needs to more than double current regional transmission capacity and increase by five-fold the transmission lines between regions, according to an Energy Department study last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.