The Department of Energy is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into community projects that the agency hopes will speed up permitting for major new power lines.
DOE announced Wednesday that it would invest $370 million from the Inflation Reduction Act into 20 projects. Four will focus on siting and permitting activities, while 16 will fund “economic development.”
They include two grants for projects along the proposed Southline Transmission Project: $10.7 million toward the creation of a conservation area in Willcox, Arizona, and $1.8 million to renovate downtown Lordsburg, New Mexico. DOE will also fund several economic development projects along the proposed North Plains Connector, a high-voltage transmission line that would connect the Upper Midwest, Great Plains and Pacific Northwest.
“This program is a little different — it’s specifically designed to uplift communities impacted by transmission development,” Maria Robinson, director of the Grid Deployment Office, told reporters on a conference call. “We want to make sure that where transmission is, people also want to live.”
