Maine Governor’s Energy Office Selected for Grant from U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program

On October 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected 38 projects across 42 states and Washington, D.C., to receive up to $2 billion in investment through the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program. The projects were selected through two of the GRIP Programs: The Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants, which aim to support activities that will update the reliability of the grid to reduce impacts of more severe and frequent weather events, and the Smart Grid Grants, which aim to increase the flexibility, efficiency, and reliability of the power system, particularly through increasing transmission capacity. Collectively, the awardees are anticipated to accelerate the interconnection process for new clean energy projects, add approximately 7.5 gigawatts (GW) of grid capacity, and support roughly 6,000 jobs.

The Maine Governor's Energy Office was selected to receive a $65 million Smart Grid Grant, the only State or Territory Energy Office lead applicant selected for an award through the aforementioned funding streams in Round 2. The project, Flexible Interconnections and Resilience for Maine (FIRM), is a collaboration between the State of Maine, Central Maine Power (CMP), and Versant Power that hopes to deploy smart-grid technology to boost renewable power generation and interconnection, regulate voltage, and enhance grid stability and transmission capacity on existing lines. An overview of the project goals is provided below:

• Utilize state-of-the-art technologies to increase grid hosting capacity for distributed energy resources (DERs) and address interconnection delays.

• Deploy a targeted dynamic line rating (DLR) solution to increase capacity of transmission lines by monitoring real-time conditions through sensors.

• Create nearly 200 direct jobs and support at least 225 training or pre-apprenticeships and 270 paid apprenticeships.

For more information on the awardees of this round of funding, click here. Applications for the third round of GRIP funding are slated to open in 2025.