Speed to Power Initiative
Accelerating Large-scale Grid Infrastructure Projects to Win the AI Race
Pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order, Unleashing American Energy, the Administration declared a national energy emergency, underscoring the need for an affordable, reliable, and secure supply of energy to restore American prosperity and ensure military preparedness.
On July 7, 2025, DOE released the Report on Evaluating U.S. Grid Reliability and Security fulfilling Section 3(b) of President Trump’s Executive Order, Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the United States Electrical Grid. The report established a uniform methodology to identify at-risk regions and guide federal reliability interventions. DOE warned that, absent new firm capacity and continued retirement of reliable generation, blackout frequency could increase by up to 100 times by 2030.
On September 18, 2025, the Office of Electricity launched the Speed to Power initiative: a federal effort to dramatically accelerate development timelines for large-scale transmission and generation projects. The initiative aims to ensure sufficient power to support American competitiveness in artificial intelligence while meeting rising demand for affordable, reliable and secure energy.
As a first step, DOE issued a Request for Information (RFI) in Fall 2025 to solicit input on large-scale transmission and generation projects capable of rapid deployment and interconnection. DOE sought information on near-term investment opportunities, project readiness, load growth expectations, and infrastructure bottlenecks that federal authorities and funding programs could address to rapidly expand grid capacity. The responses received have been reviewed and are informing DOE actions such as the funding opportunity described below.
On March 12, 2026, the DOE’s Office of Electricity announced an approximate $1.9 billion to catalyze electricity infrastructure investments through the Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades (SPARK) funding opportunity. DOE will prioritize projects that can be implemented quickly to deliver durable physical upgrades and dynamic operation gains that together increase the value, performance, security, resilience, affordability, and reliability of the nation’s electric grid.
Applicants must submit a concept paper by April 2, 2026 to be eligible to submit a full application.
See the SPARK NOFO page for more information.
