Biden Administration Allocates $3.5 Billion for Grid Resilience and Union Collaboration
The Biden administration is directing $3.5 billion towards enhancing the national electric grid, with a strong focus on supporting projects that strengthen grid resilience against extreme weather. (Photo: grist.org)
Supporting Union Collaboration and Environmental Resilience
According to the source, The Biden administration is allocating $3.5 billion to enhance the national electric grid, with a significant portion of the funding benefiting a labor union that predominantly supports Democratic candidates. This investment facilitated through the bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021, aims to bolster President Biden’s pro-union green infrastructure agenda, with 58 projects spanning 44 states dedicated to strengthening the power grid’s resilience against extreme weather events. The Department of Energy (DOE) under the guidance of the Biden administration, revealed that many of these projects will involve collaboration with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
The funding initiative aligned with the Biden administration’s Justice40 program, ensures that 40% of the funding’s benefits are directed toward historically disadvantaged communities, as per the DOE’s announcement. About 75% of the projects funded will partner with the IBEW as directed by the Biden administration, which contributed over $9.3 million to Democratic candidates and organizations during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles.
The IBEW’s financial support extended to Democratic-aligned groups such as the Senate Majority PAC and the Democratic National Committee Services Corp. The union is also part of the AFL-CIO, a major coalition of labor unions that officially endorsed President Biden’s 2020 campaign and, as an extension of the Biden administration’s policies.
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Green Grid Resilience and Community Protection Initiatives
This investment, under the oversight of the DOE and the Biden administration, is part of the DOE’s $10.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program. This program, guided by the Biden administration’s goals, is focused on adapting the electric grid to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters and extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change.
The program, in line with the Biden administration’s vision, seeks to enhance grid flexibility, efficiency, and reliability by promoting the development of clean energy sources like solar and wind. Some of the projects funded, with the support of the Biden administration, will address issues such as wildfire assessment and resilience upgrades in states prone to forest fires, as well as the creation of emergency “microgrids” and initiatives aimed at protecting disadvantaged communities during extreme weather events.
The White House, the DOE, and the IBEW, all integral to the Biden administration’s policies and actions, have not yet responded to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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