Louisiana has landed more than $300 million in federal grant money to harden its electric grid in New Orleans and set up "resilience hubs" around the state where residents can access electricity during disasters or extended outages.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced the awards Wednesday as part of $3.5 billion effort to fund 58 projects across 44 states. The grants are aimed at strengthening the country's electric grid in the face of climate change, which is causing more severe weather events like hurricanes and wildfires.
Entergy New Orleans is slated to get $54 million and will match it with $54 million of its own money to harden 97 transmission and 381 distribution structures. The goal of the project is to lower the frequency and duration of power outages during extreme weather events. The utility will also begin a battery backup project to help keep the lights on.
CEO Deanna Rodriguez said the funds will allow the utility to “offset the cost burden on our customers.” The final award is expected to be made in about 120 days, the company said.
City leaders have called on Entergy New Orleans to land more federal grants instead of asking customers to foot the entire bill for a $1 billion plan to harden the grid. Entergy on Tuesday launched a public campaign to gin up support for its plan, which is aimed at helping the grid perform better after hurricanes.
The feds also awarded $250 million to Louisiana's Department of Natural Resources, which the state has agreed to match. The $500 million project will set up hubs at critical facilities or community shelters and equip them with a clean energy source, like solar panels, long-duration storage like batteries and grid technologies.
“Extended power outages are one of the biggest threats to our communities as they respond to and recover from hurricanes and natural disasters,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a statement. “This program will help keep the power on after storms at important community locations, eliminating some of the challenges that follow extreme weather—staying healthy and cool, keeping in touch with loved ones, and accessing other services.”
U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, and U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, are the only members of the Louisiana delegation who voted for the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, which funded the grants.
It’s not clear exactly which sites will get the hubs. Patrick Courreges, a spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources, said the state has identified about 70 sites that are eligible, but hasn't yet finalized where they will be. He said south Louisiana will likely get a significant number.
The sites will be in three broad categories: Community areas like medical centers, evacuation centers and emergency services facilities, Courreges said. The first sites will likely start popping up in about a year.
