• ​Biden has announced plans to provide funding to improve, modernise and grow the US power grid.
• The announced initiatives aim to move the US towards its clean energy goals and will focus on improving the infrastructure’s transmission and storage capacity, creating resilience against environmental disasters, and integrating innovative technologies into the grid.
• It is anticipated that the grants and support provided will give developers and investors’ confidence in the market, while creating a demand for renewables recruitment in this sector.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that the Biden-Harris Administration intends to allocate $13 billion USD for opportunities and projects focusing on the expansion and modernization of the US’s power grid, with this funding driving anticipated growth in this sector the need for renewables recruitment is also anticipated to increase. 

Jennifer M. Granholm, the U.S. Secretary of Energy said: 

“We are moving swiftly to deliver cleaner, cheaper energy to every American community by building a modern and reliable electric grid. With nearly 70% of the nation’s grid more than 25 years old, the President’s agenda is making historic investments that will strengthen the nation’s transmission grid to drive down energy costs, generate good-paying jobs, and help keep the lights on during extreme weather events.”

This represents the largest single direct federal investment in critical transmission and distribution infrastructure under the Administration’s “Building a Better Grid Initiative” and will be a major step in delivering on the administration’s target of 100% clean electricity by 2035. Estimates suggest that the US must scale power transmission systems by 60% by 2030 to meet this goal, clearly resulting in new roles and an increased demand for renewables recruitment in the US. 

The Building a Better Grid Initiative, which launched in January 2022, aims to identify national transmission needs, renewables recruitment talent deficits and will finance $20 billion USD to help build out long-distance, high-voltage transmission and distribution systems, which will be crucial to reaching the target of a zero-emissions economy by 2050.

Support for companies in the US Power Sector

The Building a Better Grid Initiative will be funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Grid Resilience Innovative Partnership (GRIP) Program and the Transmission Facilitation Program.

But what do these initiatives look like? And how will they affect renewables recruitment?

The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will aim to invest $10.5 billion across three programs, with the intention of improving the resilience of the power grid against anticipated future extreme weather events and climate change.

The Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program aims to create support for projects focused on:

• Industry grants to improve grid resilience, including plans to fund distribution and transmission solutions that will reduce the impact of environmental events.

• Grants centred around implementing smart grid technology. These plans aim to increase the reliability, resilience, flexibility, and efficiency of the US electric power grid. It has a particular emphasis on increasing the capacity of the grid’s transmission technology and integrating renewable energy. It also aims to assist the incorporation of electric vehicles and other grid-edge devices. 

• A grid innovation program will provide financial assistance to the industry. It hopes to collaborate with operators and electric grid owners to build projects that focus on creating innovative solutions to storage, distribution, and transmission infrastructure. It anticipated that these new projects would create a demand for renewables recruitment in this space.

The Transmission Facilitation Program will create a fund to help overcome the financial obstacles these new large-scale transmission projects and the improvement of existing transmission lines face, but also help provide the financial backing to use renewables recruitment services and find the required talent. It is also worth mentioning that in select states and territories, this program plans to set up microgrids, which could more readily incorporate renewable energy sources and sustain service during natural disasters. Currently most of the 160 microgrids are in: New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Alaska, California, Georgia, and Maryland. 

 Anticipated Growth for US Jobs in Clean Energy

We anticipate that these measures will increase the confidence of investors and developers, but also reduce their risk in creating transmission capacity projects, enviably driving growth within the industry, and creating new job opportunities, new roles, and a demand for renewables recruitment.

For a summary of the program and to view the Grid and Transmission Programs Conductor Guide and Briefing Deck for more information about eligibility and application requirements, funding opportunities, grant timelines and to find the best program for you, click here.

If you are a company in need of renewables recruitment in this space, then we welcome the opportunity to present our services and capabilities.

If you are a candidate looking for renewables recruitment services, please check our jobs page or contact us to discuss your background, skills, and future aspirations. We always look forward to staying connected and exchanging ideas, insights, and opinions.

Sources

• https://www.energy.gov/gdo/grid-deployment-office 

• https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-13-billion-modernize-and-expand-americas-power-grid 

• https://www.energy.gov/gdo/building-better-grid-initiative 

• https://www.c2es.org/content/microgrids/ ​

David Byrne

Managing Director | Partner, Americas

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+1 832 623 0114

david@aurexgroup.com