August 7, 2024 — A regional project to upgrade the infrastructure connecting offshore wind farms to the electric grid was awarded nearly $390 million in federal funding through a competitive grant program, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced Tuesday.
The Power Up New England project, submitted by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources on behalf of all six New England states, was one eight projects nationwide awarded $2.2 billion through DOE’s Grid Innovation Program.
The project is a collaboration among state agency energy departments, local utility companies and an unnamed “emerging technology developer.” It aims to ready the region for the flurry of new offshore wind projects which, once finished, collectively bring several thousand megawatts of renewable electricity to the regional grid. The $389 million in federal funding, which requires a $500 million local match, specifically pays for new and upgraded interconnection points in southeastern Massachusetts and southeastern Connecticut, as well as new battery storage systems in southwest Connecticut and in Maine.