Armchair Discussion: Grid Deployment Office
During the 2023 National Clean Energy Week Policymakers Symposium, American Electric Power Senior Vice President of Federal Affairs Emily Duncan sat down with Maria Duaime Robinson, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grid Deployment Office, for an armchair discussion on ongoing efforts to modernize the grid and increase resiliency.
The Grid Development Office’s (GDO) goal is to help modernize the American grid as the U.S. continues to transition to clean energy. Robinson said that DOE studies out later this year will address where resource adequacy gaps exist. GDO’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) funding is going to be made available soon.
“We need to maintain and upgrade the grid that we have, but we also need to think about how we can transform that grid for these new solutions,” Duncan said.
Robinson added that the GRIP program will provide funding intended to take transmission and distribution grids to the next level. Robinson shared three areas of focus for the GRIP program:
- Maintaining existing generation assets (including hydroelectric and nuclear)
- A transmission division that specializes in financing, permitting, and planning regulations
- A grid modernization division that helps states plan for the future and provides funding to upgrade existing grid systems
“We are running on all cylinders and are excited to engage with everyone,” Robinson said.
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