DOE is awarding up to $50 million to the department’s National Laboratories for research into securing critical energy infrastructure.
The funds will support “early stage research and development of next-generation tools and technologies to further improve the resilience of the nation’s critical energy infrastructure, including the electric grid and oil and natural gas infrastructure,” according to the DOE announcement.
“As round-the-clock efforts continue to help communities recover from the devastation of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the need to continue strengthening and improving our electricity delivery system to withstand and recover from disruptions has become even more compelling,” said Secretary of Energy Rick Perry.
“The electricity system must continue to evolve to address a variety of challenges and opportunities such as severe weather and the cyber threat, a changing mix of types of electric generation, the ability for consumers to participate in electricity markets, the growth of the internet of things, and the aging of the electricity infrastructure,” DOE added.
DOE also awarded research funding to seven Resilient Distribution Systems projects, which are developing more durable energy distribution technology. Final funding will depend on Congressional action.
