Funding from the U.S. Department of Energy will support new grid enhancing technologies, expand grid capacity to handle more renewable energy, and deliver workforce investments to the state.
October 18, 2024
Augusta, MAINE – The Maine Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) announced today that the U.S. Department of Energy has selected GEO a receive a $65 million grant for new technologies to enhance electrical grid planning and operation in Maine, helping to deliver more clean energy to Maine households and businesses and strengthen the clean energy workforce in the state.
The Federal award supports a new project known as Flexible Interconnections and Resilience for Maine (FIRM). FIRM is a collaboration between the State of Maine, Central Maine Power (CMP), and Versant Power – the first collaboration of this kind for Maine – which will deploy cutting-edge software and hardware to enhance grid stability, regulate voltage, and increase transmission capacity on existing lines.
Maine’s proposal was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Grid Deployment Office for the award through the Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnerships (GRIP) Program, which is funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
“In order to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and embrace clean energy, we must make sure that Maine has a strong electrical grid that can accept power from multiple sources and deliver it efficiently and reliably to Maine people and businesses,” said Governor Janet Mills. “That’s why my Administration, through innovative projects like these, is focused on working with Maine’s utilities to strengthen and modernize our electrical infrastructure. We want to build the grid of the future, and programs like this – with Federal support – are moving us in that direction. I thank Maine’s Congressional Delegation and the Biden-Harris Administration for their support and for this investment, which was made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
“In recent years, severe and extreme weather have damaged communities across Maine, reinforcing the urgent need for our state to take the necessary steps to preserve our energy and grid resilience,” said Maine's Congressional Delegation. “This $65 million grant from the Department of Energy is a major step forward in ensuring our communities have the tools and resources to protect themselves from threats of dangerous weather and climate change. This funding will also help spur new and innovative energy-saving technologies, helping Mainers keep the lights on while also saving them money. Thanks to historic investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — which we were proud to support — programs like the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership will be able to meet the growing demand for grid stability and energy resiliency for years to come.”
“A strong, modern electrical grid is essential for unlocking affordable, reliable, clean energy for Maine people,” said Dan Burgess, Director of the Maine Governor’s Energy Office. “Though this award, the FIRM project will deliver cutting edge technologies that will expand grid capacity and allow for more flexible management of clean energy resources while growing Maine’s clean energy workforce through training opportunities, apprenticeships, and job creation.”
"As extreme weather events continue to stress electric systems across the country, the Biden-Harris Administration is using every tool in the toolbox to make sure America’s power grid can provide reliable, affordable power,” said Maria Robinson, Director, Grid Deployment Office, U.S. Department of Energy. “The project in Maine is leveraging cutting-edge technologies to create a more modern and dynamic grid that can support the integration of distributed and renewable energy resources, while ensuring customers in Maine have access to affordable, reliable electricity.”
“Our ability to connect more clean, affordable energy to Maine’s power grid is critical to meeting the state’s climate goals,” said Pedro Azagra, CEO of Avangrid. “Over the past year, CMP and Avangrid have received nearly a half billion dollars in federal awards that will directly benefit our customers. I want to extend our gratitude to Governor Mills and her team for their ongoing support as we continue to combat extreme weather and build smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy infrastructure for Maine.”
“At Versant Power, we are working every day to meet our customers’ needs, now and in the future, in a cost-effective way,” said John Flynn, President of Versant Power. “We are gratified that the Department of Energy has recognized the merit of our careful and creative planning work with the Governor’s Energy Office and Central Maine Power in awarding this Grid Resilience and Innovations Partnerships grant, which will directly offset costs to Maine customers for necessary investments for a modern grid.”
Through the project, Central Maine Power and Versant Power will deploy software and hardware technologies to help enhance grid planning and operational capabilities, allowing for more efficient and cost-effective integration of renewable energy resources throughout their respective service territories. Where deployed, innovative technologies used in this project will:
- Help connect more renewable energy to the power grid while also protecting the grid from overloading.
- More flexibly manage intermittent sources of power like wind and solar through better voltage control.
- Enable the efficient, automated flow of more clean energy through the grid while lowering interconnection costs.
This funding also will help advance Governor Mills’ goal of creating 30,000 clean energy jobs by 2030 by creating and expanding clean energy job training and job placement.
This announcement follows several other federal grants awarded to Maine for clean energy in 2024. In August, Governor Mills announced a $147 million federal grant award to support a long-duration energy storage system in Lincoln, part of a $389 million regional grid innovation grant to New England states funded through BIL.
In July, the Governor announced $6.6 million in federal grants funded through BIL to support grid resilience upgrades for communities across Maine, including several small utilities.
In April, Maine was selected for a $62 million Solar for All award administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and funded through the Biden-Harris Inflation Reduction Act to expand access to affordable, clean solar energy for Maine households.
The Governor also announced three additional federal grants to Maine to support deployment of heat pumps and weatherization in February, July, and September, bringing the total awarded to the state for heat pumps and weatherization in 2024 to over $127 million, made possible through the passage of BIL and IRA.
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