By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Four electricity transmission projects serving the U.S. southwest, southeast and New England will get $1.5 billion in public funding to improve the grid’s resilience and connect customers with clean energy, the government said on Thursday.
The funds for the second phase of the Transmission Facilitation Program come from a 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and will enable nearly 1,000 miles (1609 km) of new transmission lines in Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
“We’re using it to help large transmission projects get off the ground, projects that otherwise would not get built,” David Turk, the deputy U.S. energy secretary, told reporters on a call.
The investments will create nearly 9,000 jobs, the Department of Energy said.
The first phase of the program, announced a year ago, is supporting grid projects in western and northeastern states.
Turk said his department will buy electricity capacity on the lines and then sell it back when new customers show up.