WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy is now authorized to borrow up to $2.5 billion through loans, capacity contracts, and public-private partnerships to help build new interregional transmission lines across the country.
The Transmission Facilitation Program, known as TFP, is administered through the Building a Better Grid Initiative. This funding program provides Federal support to projects that would not be successful without the program.
TFP is for projects that need help overcoming financial hurdles in developing new transmission lines and upgrading existing transmission lines. Unique to TFP, the public-private partnership is designed to address the distinctive issues that residents in isolated communities face. The interconnection of these microgrids will give access to clean, diverse, and more affordable energy in these areas.
On October 30, 2023, the DOE announced it was entering capacity contract negotiations with three transmission projects. These projects, which were spread across six states and aimed to add 3.5 GW of additional grid capacity, created 13,000 direct and indirect jobs.
After these projects, there were two rounds of requests for proposals.
On February 6, 2024, the Grid Deployment Office (GDO) announced the second round of the TFP. This round offered a $2.5 billion revolving fund to help overcome financial hurdles faced in large-scale new transmission lines.
On February 29, 2024, the DOE announced a request for proposals for up to $200 million in transmission projects to connect remote and isolated microgrids in Alaska, Hawaii, and other U.S. territories to existing infrastructure. Applications were due May 31, 2024, and the DOE expects to notify applicants in October 2024.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy: “Through the RFP, the DOE anticipates deploying up to $1.2 billion in federal support to accelerate transmission buildout through capacity contracts, an innovative approach that increases the confidence of investors and potential customers while reducing risk for projects.”
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