In a monumental move towards a cleaner, more resilient future, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has just injected a significant $34 million into 12 groundbreaking projects spanning 11 states. The aim? To fortify and modernize America's aging power grid through the development of cost-effective, high-speed, and safe undergrounding technologies. This is not just an energy upgrade; it's a transformative leap towards reliability, resilience, and security.
Under the visionary Grid Overhaul with Proactive, High-speed Undergrounding for Reliability, Resilience, and Security program, these carefully selected projects will spearhead innovative solutions. The goal is to upgrade and expand our nation's grid infrastructure, ushering in a new era of lower costs, reduced inefficiencies, and a swift adoption of renewable clean energy resources. This announcement aligns seamlessly with President Biden's Investing in America agenda, a strategic move to build robust and secure energy infrastructure, creating high-paying jobs while fortifying America's energy and national security.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm emphasizes the critical importance of modernizing the power grid for a clean energy future that benefits all Americans. With the DOE's support, teams nationwide are gearing up to develop pioneering approaches to bury power infrastructure underground, thereby increasing resilience and catapulting our aging grid into the 21st century.
The current U.S. electric power distribution system boasts over 5.5 million line-miles and 180 million power poles, making it susceptible to weather-related damage, resulting in numerous power outages annually. Extreme weather events, fueled by climate change, are exacerbating the situation, wreaking havoc on communities and disrupting lives. The solution? Undergrounding power lines, a proven method to enhance system reliability for both transmission and distribution grids. By safeguarding these systems underground, the impact of weather events is significantly reduced.
Managed by the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), today's announced teams, comprising small and large businesses, national labs, and universities, are poised to play a pivotal role in developing technologies that cut costs, increase speed, and enhance the safety of undergrounding operations. Let's take a closer look at some of the selected projects:
- Arizona State University: They're developing a water-jet underground construction tool, eliminating the need for a hard drill bit, thus reducing costs and schedule impacts.
- GE Vernova Advanced Research: Picture a robotic worm tunneling construction tool that mimics the natural movement of earthworms, installing 1,000 feet of cable and conduit in just two hours, revolutionizing efficiency.
- Melni Technologies: They're redesigning medium-voltage power cable splice kits to reduce human errors, streamline connections, and boost the reliability of underground electrical power distribution systems.
- Oceanit: Imagine a look-ahead subsurface sensor system that uses unmanned aerial vehicles and electromagnetic resistivity techniques to avoid damaging existing utilities when undergrounding power lines.
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: They're developing an artificial intelligence system for processing geophysical survey data into a digital twin, providing near real-time subsurface mapping and utility identification, leading to significant cost savings.
- Prysmian Cables and Systems USA: They're creating a hands-free power cable splicing machine, drastically reducing the share of splicing-caused medium-voltage network failures and improving workforce safety.
These projects represent a collective push towards a more efficient, reliable, and sustainable power grid. By investing in these innovations, we're not just upgrading infrastructure; we're laying the foundation for a cleaner, brighter future. To dive deeper into these transformative initiatives, visit the ARPA-E website.