PNNL Grid Experts Discuss Opportunities of Infrastructure Bill

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) –also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law –was signed into law on November 15, 2021. But what does this mean for the national power grid and the Pacific Northwest region? In February, renowned grid experts Carl Imhoff and Angela Becker-Dippmann, presented on this topic as part of a joint Advanced Grid Institute (AGI) and Energy System Innovation Center (ESIC) webinar.

Through the IIJA, the U.S. government will spend more than $1.2 trillion on critical transportation, internet, water, and power infrastructure upgrades. Of that amount, $60 billion will be earmarked for the U.S. Department of Energy to spend on research, development, and deployment of clean energy technology in the next five years.

“It will surpass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in size and scope,” said Becker-Dippmann.

Future proofing the grid

Increasing investment in energy storage, hydropower, offshore wind energy, and hydrogen and fuel cell technologies will bring the U.S. closer to a decarbonized and resilient energy future. In addition to making investments in cutting-edge technologies, the IIJA will also allocate funds towards hardening the nation’s infrastructure against worsening extreme climate events and cyber-attacks.

To prepare for the distribution of these funds, DOE has created the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to standardize management of technology demonstration projects across energy sectors. Becker-Dippman mentioned that one of the greatest opportunities for the Pacific Northwest region is the creation of a regional clean hydrogen hub to produce clean hydrogen from multiple energy sources, including renewable energy. But clean energy demonstrations and deployment isn’t the only common theme through the IIJA, Becker-Dippman said recycling batteries and other energy related technologies and materials is also emerging as a key theme.

Supporting states and municipalities

Consistent with its focus on energy equity and environmental justice, the U.S. will be allocating significant funding towards financial and technical assistance for states, cities, and municipalities. In fact, there’s about $5 billion set aside for states, regions, local governments, tribes, and public utility commissions. That amount could be larger if factoring in industry cost share agreements. Becker-Dippmann mentioned there’s even specific program targeted at making significant upgrades to energy infrastructure in rural and remote areas.

Imhoff outlined opportunities for individual entities like utilities or local communities, specifically energy resilience grants, smart grid investment grants, energy storage demonstrations, and transmission facilitation grants to incentivize transition to clean energy generation.

“My main takeaway here is that DOE recognizes that business as usual is not going to get us close to achieving the 2035 goal of decarbonizing the grid, and they’re looking for ways that we can accelerate opportunities or projects that have been right at the cusp of being economically viable,” said Imhoff.

Watch the full recording. Interested in future webinars? Visit the ESIC website for the full Spring seminar schedule.