As we celebrate and do the electric slide into our first birthday at the Grid Deployment Office on Aug. 10, we are reflecting on some of our most powerful moments and accomplishments in the past year.
August 10, 2023
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Lighting the Way to a Better Grid
As we celebrate and do the electric slide into our first birthday at the Grid Deployment Office on Aug. 10, we are reflecting on some of our most powerful moments and accomplishments in the past year. Rebuilding and improving critical infrastructure, like the electric grid, is a cornerstone of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as a critical piece of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. A modern, reliable grid means cool homes on hot summer days, power to keep the lights on through storms, and warm communities during cold winters.
As a new Department of Energy office under the Under Secretary of Infrastructure, we have spent the past year 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 need it. To do this, we have expanded our team to more than 100 talented employees with diverse backgrounds in engineering, physical science, business administration, and much more with all of us united in our mission to build a better grid that delivers clean, reliable, and affordable electricity. We are grateful for all the hard work from our employees and partners this past year and look forward to another year of important collaboration, research, and innovation to enhance our clean energy future.
Employee Spotlights
Shannon Alessandroni (Deputy Chief of Staff)
Every day I’m excited to be a part of GDO. I feel honored to learn from and be a part of such a knowledgeable and passionate group. Our ethos of collaboration and kindness energize me. We have staff from all over the country with a wide variety of work expertise and lived experience who come together to make our big hairy audacious grid infrastructure goals a reality. GDO is electric!
Michele Zemplenyi (Project Manager – Grid Resilience)
As I read more and more about the clean energy transition, a key obstacle that kept surfacing was the limitation of our electric grid to support the incredible number of clean energy projects waiting to come online. I wanted to join GDO so I could work with a team of people focused on overcoming obstacles to improving our nation’s electric infrastructure.
Aaliyah Dillion (Workforce Advisor)
As someone from a coastal community, the climate crisis has always been front and center for me. I was inspired by the groundbreaking work that GDO and the Department of Energy at large are doing to transform the United States energy sector and combat climate change. With GDO being a newer organization, the projects are particularly timely, and the organization is filled with fresh perspectives. Coming to work at GDO felt like a chance to join at the start of something special and truly make a difference.
Bryan Palacio (Policy Advisor)
I have spent a lot of time learning about Earth’s natural systems, ecology, and how they are all intertwined. Having a front-row seat to watch climate change affect our environment (and us) inspired me to want to do my part in solving the crisis. We are going to need a million and one solutions to solve the climate crisis, and we all have a part to play. Whether it is on the energy side, the environmental side, the advocacy side, or even just as a consumer, we all have the potential to impact the system for the better.
Let’s shed some light on a few of the ways we are investing in infrastructure, expanding our team, executing on programs to support clean energy needs, ensuring robust power sources, and supporting communities.
GDO oversees more than $26 billion in federal funding to invest in infrastructure to improve the resilience and reliability of the electric grid and help power get to communities where and when it is needed most. We are focused on establishing sustainable programs that are rooted in stakeholder and community engagement. To date, we’ve released more than 60 publications, including multiple requests for feedback and new funding announcements. Catch up on any news you may have missed: Grid Deployment Office News.
Did you know GDO’s staff are part of the Clean Energy Corps, a hiring initiative established through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to recruit individuals dedicated to public service who will help achieve DOE’s mission to deliver reliable, clean, and affordable energy when and where people need it most. More than 100 employees from diverse backgrounds are helping the Grid Deployment Office achieve our mission, and we are looking for more talented people to join our team! Our dynamic, fast-paced organization is recruiting experts across a range of career fields and levels, with opportunities at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Washington, D.C. headquarters, as well as remote and hybrid options. Explore career opportunities: Join Our Team.
GDO’s mission includes working with existing power generation facilities to ensure resilience and reliability, which means helping to prevent the premature retirement of existing zero-carbon nuclear plants and enhancing hydroelectric facilities to improve efficiency, maintain dam safety, and reduce environmental impacts. Nuclear reactors and hydropower dams are key tools in ensuring all Americans have clean, resilient, and affordable electricity. Our work doesn’t stop there, either: We’re also focused on improving electricity markets at the wholesale and distribution levels, conducting modeling, market evaluations, and risk assessments for energy infrastructure. Learn more: Generation Credits Division.
At GDO, we are committed to supporting communities by working with states, local governments, tribes, industry groups, and stakeholders to ensure programs can maximize community benefits. In our first year, we have hosted more than 30 workshops, webinars, and listening sessions, participated in more than 100 speaking engagements and events, and sought valuable feedback through numerous requests for information and input. Stay on top of deadlines and check out our upcoming events: Meetings & Events.
DOE is committed to assisting Puerto Rico in rebuilding its grid and ensuring it is modernized and reliable far into the future, providing clean, accessible power to Commonwealth residents while also helping reach the region’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050. In this work, GDO and the Puerto Rico Grid Recovery and Modernization Team are coordinating federal funding streams to overcome past hurdles to infrastructure deployment and also overseeing more than $1 billion of federal support to modernize Puerto Rico’s electric grid, reduce impacts of climate-driven extreme weather and natural disasters, improve power sector reliability, and enhance Puerto Rican communities’ access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity. Learn more: Puerto Rico Grid Recovery and Modernization.
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