TVA receives $250 million clean energy grant
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Today, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that the Tennessee Valley Authority was selected for a $250 million grant.
They were selected for a $250 million grant from DOE’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program to fund 84 energy security projects to ensure local communities have access to affordable, reliable and clean electricity.
Jeff Lyash, TVA President and CEO, says, “We are excited that our coalition has been selected to begin negotiations with DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, TVA is a clean energy leader, and as our dependency on clean electricity grows, this coalition will leverage this historic funding opportunity to accelerate the delivery of affordable, reliable, and carbon-free energy to the communities we serve. This investment will improve the way we deliver clean energy, while driving greater regional economic prosperity. This is an opportunity to work together with LPC partners to transform our systems and continue our mission of powering growth across the region.”
The anticipated outcomes from this grant include, adding up to 2,400 megawatts of transmission grid capacity, provide an anticipated 94% reduction in localized outage durations, and create approximately 800 jobs over five years, of which 99.7% will be union construction labor.
LPC partners that are a part of the coalition include: Aberdeen Public Utilities; Amory Utilities; Athens Utilities Board; Franklin Electric Cooperative; Mountain Electric Cooperative; New Albany Light, Gas & Water; Okolona Electric Department; Philadelphia Utilities; Water Valley Electric Department; and City of West Point Electric System.
Sean McGarvey, President of North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), says, “DOE’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program continues to prioritize awardees who value middle-class sustaining careers and benefits for their workforces. Today’s selection of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) under GRIP will not only benefit ratepayers but the strong unionized workforce which continues to strive every day to provide the Tennessee Valley with the power it demands. Our members are proud to continue our decades long partnership with TVA and look forward to improving the resilience of their power systems.”
TVA was created 90 years ago and has served as the nation’s largest public power supplier, delivering energy to 10 million people across seven southeastern states.
