The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded National Grid with a $50 million grant for its $140 million Future Grid Project to deploy digital technology and optimize the use of distributed energy resources (DERs) to achieve an improved electric system reliability and resilience, as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act enacted in 2021 under the Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnerships (GRIP) Program.
The project is also expected to develop and adopt decarbonized resources, such as solar and energy storage. The federal funds will supplement a $90 million investment by National Grid.
The project will position digital technology solutions at locations to benefit disadvantaged communities in New York and Massachusetts to improve electric system reliability and resilience and bring more clean energy resources to those areas.
The project is not only expected to maximize the value of DERs through advanced network management, resource orchestration and control but will also be built upon foundational grid modernization investments implemented in electric service territories in New York and Massachusetts, including advanced metering infrastructure, advanced distribution management systems, distributed energy resource management systems and more.
It is expected to expand training and pre-apprenticeship programs in partnership with several local community-serving institutes.
“As we strive to accelerate the clean energy transition, the advanced software technology we’ve proposed will not only allow for faster and easier integration of decarbonized resources but also will unlock the full value of these resources for the benefit of our customers and the grid,” said Stephen Woerner, President of National Grid, New England.
