The Department of Energy is inviting proposals for a $1.2 billion funding opportunity for companies willing to build and modernize large-scale renewable energy transmission projects.
The request for proposals marks the second iteration of the Transmission Facilitation Program, which issued its first solicitation in 2022, DOE said Tuesday.
Part of the program’s strategy is to tap late-stage and “shovel ready” projects to increase the likelihood of completing high-capacity transmission lines and reassure investors and future customers. DOE will match the contractors by purchasing up to 50 percent of a line’s maximum capacity.
The RFP is divided into two parts for administrative purposes. The first part of the application process will close on March 11.
“There’s no way around it: to realize the full benefit of the nation’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035, we need to more than double our grid capacity,” DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm commented. “President Biden’s historic clean energy legislation is helping modernize the nation’s transmission to deliver reliable, more affordable energy to every American community in turn driving down costs for American families and generating good paying jobs for American workers.”
