Meet the Grid Deployment Office

The Biden Administration is committed to reducing U.S. emissions by at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030, reaching 100% clean electricity by 2035 and a zero-emissions economy by 2050. Reaching these goals requires rapid, widespread deployment of clean energy solutions, including vast improvements in the U.S. power grid under President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. This is where the Grid Deployment Office comes into play. 

One of the offices under the newly created Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure, the Grid Deployment Office (GDO) is responsible for maintaining and investing in critical power generation facilities, increasing grid resilience, and improving and expanding transmission and distribution systems to provide reliable, affordable electricity when and where people across the U.S. need it. GDO oversees more than $26 billion, primarily made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to drive grid investments, improve transmission and distribution systems, and provide technical assistance on a variety of transformational grid modernization and market strategies.

GDO advances its mission through three critical divisions within the office: Generation Credits, Transmission, and Grid Modernization.

Generation Credits

GDO's Generation Credits Division works with existing power generation facilities—such as hydropower and nuclear energy—to ensure resilience and reliability of the U.S. electric grid. It also works to improve electricity markets at the wholesale and distribution level. Its three programs include the Civil Nuclear Credit Program, Hydroelectric Incentives, and Wholesale Markets Analysis.

Transmission

The United States must expand its transmission systems 60% by 2030 and may need to triple existing systems by 2050 in order to meet growing clean electricity demands. GDO’s Transmission Division leverages DOE’s unique tools and authorities to oversee transmission planning, siting and permitting, and commercial facilitation and financing.

Through the National Transmission Needs Study and the National Transmission Planning Study, GDO is identifying long-term interregional and national transmission needs and strategies to improve transmission planning and support investment in the highest-need areas across the United States. GDO is also helping identify sustainable and equitable strategies to support the deployment of offshore wind.

To improve transmission siting and permitting, GDO supports the designation of National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors and DOE’s authorities through the Federal Power Act to expedite and streamline federal permitting coordination. These efforts will be bolstered by the $760 million Transmission Siting and Economic Development Grants Program, which supports states and local communities in the siting and permitting of electricity transmission lines.

The Transmission Division also supports commercial facilitation and financing through GDO’s $2.5 billion Transmission Facilitation Program and $2 billion Transmission Facility Financing loan program. These initiatives will support the development of nationally significant transmission lines, increasing resilience by connecting regions of the country and improving access to cheaper clean energy sources.

Grid Modernization

Rounding out the office’s work, GDO’s Grid Modernization Division is responsible for developing activities that prevent outages and enhance the reliability and resilience of the electric grid while catalyzing the development of new and upgraded high-capacity electric transmission lines and an improved distribution system nationwide. GDO supports this mission through its $2.3 billion Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants and the $10.5 billion Grid Resilience Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program, both of which work to strengthen and modernize the power grid.

This Division also includes Territory and Recovery Assistance work to support U.S. territories’ grid resilience and recovery from extreme weather events. Among these initiatives, GDO’s Puerto Rico Grid Recovery and Modernization Team is committed to helping the island reach its renewable energy target of 100% by 2050, improve grid resilience, and deploy $1 billion through the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund.

GDO is proud to work in partnership with States, Tribes, community stakeholders, and private sector leaders to deploy a modern, reliable, and resilient grid. Visit the Grid Deployment Office website to learn more.