Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2022 / Notices 2769 

1See U.S. Dep’t of Energy, Infographic: 

Understanding the Grid (Nov. 2014), https://

www.energy.gov/articles/infographicunderstanding-grid. 

2See Energy Information Agency, Major utilities 

continue to increase spending on U.S. electric 

distribution systems, (July 20, 2018), https://

www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=36675. 

3See ICF International, Electric Grid Security and 

Resilience: Establishing a Baseline for Adversarial 

Threats, at 26 (June 2016), https://www.energy.gov/ 

sites/prod/files/2017/01/f34/Electric%20Grid%20

Security%20and%20Resilience— 

Establishing%20a%20Baseline%20for%20

Adversarial%20Threats.pdf. 

Any member appointed to fill a 

vacancy for a term of service not 

completed will serve for the remainder 

of the term of service of her/his 

predecessor. No member may serve for 

a period in excess of three consecutive 

terms. Members of the Committee will 

serve as Special Government Employees 

(SGEs), as defined in 18 U.S.C. 202(a). 

As SGEs, members are selected for their 

individual expertise, integrity, 

impartiality, and experience. 

Nomination Process: Interested 

persons, stakeholders, or organizations 

(including individuals seeking 

reappointment by the Secretary of 

Education to serve on the NCFMEA) 

may nominate a qualified medical 

expert(s). To submit a nomination(s) or 

self-nominate for appointment to serve 

on the NCFMEA, please send a cover 

letter addressed to the Secretary of 

Education as follows: Honorable Miguel 

A. Cardona, Ed.D., Secretary of 

Education, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20202. In the letter, 

please note your reason(s) for 

submitting the nomination. Include a 

copy of the nominee’s current resume/ 

cv and contact information (nominee’s 

name, mailing address, email address, 

and contact phone number). In addition, 

the cover letter must include a 

statement affirming that the nominee (if 

you are nominating someone other than 

yourself) has agreed to be nominated 

and is willing to serve on the NCFMEA 

if appointed by the Secretary of 

Education. Please submit your 

nomination(s) including the requested 

attachments to the U.S. Department of 

Education, Office of the Secretary, 

Committee Management via email to: 

cmtemgmtoffice@ed.gov. (Please specify 

in the email subject line ‘‘NCFMEA 

Nomination’’). 

For questions, please contact Karen 

Akins, U.S. Department of Education, 

Committee Management Officer, Office 

of the Secretary, (202) 401–3677, or via 

email at Karen.Akins@ed.gov. 

Electronic Access to this Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site, you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register. 

Miguel A. Cardona, 

Secretary of Education. 

[FR Doc. 2022–00908 Filed 1–18–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Building a Better Grid Initiative To 

Upgrade and Expand the Nation’s 

Electric Transmission Grid To Support 

Resilience, Reliability, and 

Decarbonization 

AGENCY: Office of Electricity, 

Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: In this notice, the Department 

of Energy (DOE or the Department) 

unveils its new Building a Better Grid 

Initiative focused on catalyzing 

nationwide development of new and 

upgraded high-capacity transmission 

lines. Under the Building a Better Grid 

Initiative, DOE will identify critical 

national transmission needs and 

support the buildout of long-distance, 

high-voltage transmission facilities that 

meet those needs through collaborative 

transmission planning, innovative 

financing mechanisms, coordinated 

permitting, and continued transmission 

related research and development. DOE 

commits to robust engagement on 

energy justice and collaboration, 

including with states, American Indian 

Tribes and Alaska Natives, industry, 

unions, local communities, and other 

stakeholders for successful 

implementation of the program. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Michelle Manary, Acting Deputy 

Assistant Secretary, Electricity Delivery 

Division, Office of Electricity, Mailstop 

OE–20, Room 8H–033, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20585; Telephone: (202) 586–1411 

or ElectricityDelivery@hq.doe.gov. More 

information will also be available at 

https://www.energy.gov/oe/officeelectricity. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

A robust transmission system is 

critical to the Nation’s economic, 

energy, and national security. However, 

the United States faces challenges as its 

electric grid infrastructure continues to 

age—studies from the past decade find 

that 70 percent of the grid’s 

transmission lines and power 

transformers were over 25 years old.1 2

In addition, insufficient transmission 

capacity—especially transmission that 

facilitates transfer of power across 

regions—presents another critical 

challenge facing the grid. Upgrading and 

expanding the current transmission 

system will enhance grid reliability and 

resilience and enable the cost-effective 

integration of clean energy. 

Modernizing, hardening, and 

expanding the grid will enhance the 

resilience of our entire electric system, 

and ensure that electricity is available to 

customers when it is needed most. 

Aging infrastructure leaves the grid 

increasingly vulnerable to attacks.3 The 

increasing frequency of extreme weather 

events is leading to energy supply 

disruptions that threaten the economy, 

put public health and safety at risk, and 

can devastate affected communities all 

over the country. Investment in 

transmission infrastructure can help 

protect the grid against supply 

disruptions due to physical and cyberattacks or climate-induced extreme 

weather, minimize the impact of supply 

disruptions when they happen, and 

restore electricity more quickly when 

outages do occur. 

Expanding transmission capacity also 

improves reliability by creating stronger 

and more numerous energy delivery 

pathways, helping to ensure that 

consumers have a dependable source of 

electricity to power their homes, 

schools, and businesses. When one 

generation source is physically 

unavailable or uneconomic, 

transmission enables delivery from 

other generation sources, making the 

system better equipped to meet delivery 

requirements under the broader range of 

real circumstances and stresses seen in 

recent years. 

Electric grid investment also spurs 

economic growth. Investment in the grid 

will create demand for well-paying jobs 

in construction and will drive 

innovation, commercialization, and 

deployment of energy technologies that 

can spur new businesses. Moreover, 

clean energy generation is increasingly 

the least-cost option in many parts of 

the country, and investment in 

transmission will play a critical role in 

unlocking the deployment of greater 

renewable energy generation. 

Transmission is critical to addressing 

the climate crisis through the 

decarbonization of the power sector and 

electrification of transportation and 

other sectors. The climate crisis 

accelerates the need for the United 

States to modernize its electric grid. To 


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4See Executive Order 14008 of Jan. 27, 2021, 

Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, 

86 FR 7619 (Feb. 1, 2021), https://

www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/02/01/ 

2021-02177/tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-homeand-abroad; Fact Sheet: President Biden Sets 2030 

Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Target Aimed 

at Creating Good-Paying Union Jobs and Securing 

U.S. Leadership on Clean Energy Technologies 

(Apr. 22, 2021), https://www.whitehouse.gov/

briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/22/factsheet-president-biden-sets-2030-greenhouse-gaspollution-reduction-target-aimed-at-creating-goodpaying-union-jobs-and-securing-u-s-leadership-onclean-energy-technologies/. 

5See North American Renewable Integration 

Study, Executive Summary, p. 9. 6See id. at 4–5. 7See Eric Larson, et al., Net-Zero America: 

Potential Pathways, Infrastructure, and Impacts, at 

13–14 (Dec. 15, 2020), https://

netzeroamerica.princeton.edu/img/Princeton_NZA_

Interim_Report_15_Dec_2020_FINAL.pdf. 8ESIG Report at 10 (providing a summary of six 

studies at Appendix B); also, see Net Zero America 

(previous footnote). 9See Joseph Rand, et al., Queued Up: 

Characteristics of Power Plants Seeking 

Transmission Interconnection as of the End of 2020, 

Briefing at 6 (May 2021), https://etapublications.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/queued_up_

may_2021.pdf. 

address the imminent threat of climate 

change, and capitalize on the economic 

opportunity of doing so, President 

Biden established ambitious goals: A 

carbon pollution-free power sector by 

2035, and a net-zero greenhouse gas 

emissions economy by 2050.4 Multiple 

pathways exist for the United States to 

meet these clean energy goals, but all 

require upgrading and expanding the 

Nation’s transmission infrastructure.5 In 

particular, they require deploying 

interstate high-voltage lines connecting 

areas with significant renewable energy 

resources to demand centers and linking 

together independently operated grid 

regions. The most cost-effective 

renewable resources are often located in 

remote geographic areas far from the 

areas with the biggest demand.6

Therefore, accelerating the shift toward 

a clean power sector requires 

investment in critical enabling 

infrastructure such as transmission to 

increase access to these renewable 

energy sources.7 Numerous studies 

conclude ‘‘that a reliable power system 

that depends on very high levels of 

renewable energy will be impossible to 

implement without doubling or tripling 

the size and scale of the [N]ation’s 

transmission system.’’ 8 A recent study 

found as the number of generation and 

storage projects proposed for 

interconnection to the bulk-power 

system is growing, interconnection 

queue wait times are increasing and the 

percentage of projects reaching 

completion appears to be declining, 

particularly for wind and solar 

resources.9 Needed investments in 

transmission infrastructure include 

increasing the capacity of existing lines, 

using advanced technologies to 

minimize transmission losses and 

maximize the value of existing lines, 

and building new long-distance, highvoltage transmission lines. 

Recognizing these challenges, 

Congress enacted and the President 

signed the Infrastructure Investment and 

Jobs Act (IIJA) on November 15, 2021. 

IIJA builds on existing Department of 

Energy authorities to provide substantial 

new tools and funding to the 

Department to accelerate the 

modernization, expansion, and 

resilience of the Nation’s electric grid. 

DOE intends to coordinate the use of all 

authorities and funding focused on 

collaborative planning, innovative 

financing mechanisms, and coordinated 

permitting now at the disposal of the 

Department to resolve challenges and 

constrains facing the electric grid. 

II. Transmission Deployment Program 

For the reasons discussed previously, 

DOE intends to launch a coordinated 

transmission deployment program to 

implement both IIJA and previously 

enacted authorities and funding. Under 

the Building a Better Grid Initiative, 

DOE will engage in a collaborative 

initiative to encourage and enable 

investment in transmission 

infrastructure. DOE recognizes the 

importance of engaging with other 

federal agencies, state and local 

governments, American Indian Tribes 

and Alaska Natives, industry, unions, 

local communities, environmental 

justice organizations, and other 

stakeholders. Working with these 

partners, DOE aims to increase 

coordination and transparency; to 

employ available tools and resources to 

support the development of nationallysignificant transmission projects; and to 

improve transmission siting, permitting, 

and authorization processes. 

DOE’s implementation of the Building 

a Better Grid Initiative will fall into five 

broad categories: Coordination; 

enhancing transmission planning to 

identify areas of greatest need; 

deploying federal financing tools to 

reduce project development risk; 

facilitating an efficient transmission 

permitting process; and performing 

transmission-related research and 

development. 

A. Coordination 

Early and collaborative engagement is 

an essential element of building a 

reliable, resilient, and efficient electric 

grid. DOE will consult and work 

collaboratively with government 

entities, including states, American 

Indian Tribes, and Alaska Natives, and 

other stakeholders throughout the 

process of evaluating and deploying the 

Department’s tools and authorities to 

accelerate transmission deployment. 

(1) Regional Convenings. In most of 

the country, the primary venue in which 

the future of the transmission grid is 

being planned is through regional and 

state-level processes led by transmission 

planning organizations such as 

independent system operators (ISOs)/ 

regional transmission organizations 

(RTOs), state regulatory commissions, 

and utilities, with key involvement from 

transmission developers, independent 

power producers, consumer advocates, 

unions, public interest organizations, 

technology providers, and other 

stakeholders that contribute to the 

planning process to identify where and 

when new transmission lines are 

needed to ensure that the delivery of 

electricity remains reliable and 

affordable. In implementing the specific 

elements of the Building a Better Grid 

initiative described underneath, DOE 

intends to leverage existing regional 

venues where stakeholders are 

convened around transmission planning 

to identify nationally significant 

transmission lines, validate 

transmission modeling approaches, and 

provide technical analysis to states, 

American Indian Tribes and Alaska 

Natives, ISOs/RTOs, and utilities. 

(2) Offshore Wind Transmission 

Convening. DOE is partnering with the 

Department of the Interior’s Bureau of 

Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to 

convene key stakeholders, government 

partners, and ocean users, including 

American Indian Tribes and Alaska 

Natives, state and local governments, 

ISOs/RTOs, utilities, wind energy 

developers, and non-governmental 

organizations, to elucidate the central 

transmission challenges associated with 

meeting the Biden Administration’s 

goal—30 GW of deployed offshore wind 

(OSW) capacity by 2030 and to facilitate 

OSW development well beyond that 

goal—and identify potential solutions to 

those challenges. Later this year, DOE 

and BOEM will lead a series of 

convening workshops, in consultation 

with the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission (FERC) and other federal 

agencies, to develop a set of 

recommendations and associated action 

plan for addressing medium- and longterm OSW transmission challenges. 

These will include recommendations for 

OSW transmission development, 

transmission planning and permitting 

policies, as well as seeking to maximize 

benefits to the onshore transmission 

system by considering solutions that 

will reduce congestion and support 

system interconnection inclusive of 


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10Federal Power Act (FPA) section 216(a); 16 

U.S.C. 824p(a). 

11See Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission 

Study, NREL. https://www.nrel.gov/wind/atlanticoffshore-wind-transmission-study.html. 

12 In addition, eligible projects include those that 

would connect an isolated microgrid to an existing 

transmission, transportation, or infrastructure 

corridor located in Alaska, Hawaii, or a U.S. 

territory. 

potential onshore transmission 

upgrades. 

B. Planning 

Building a cost-effective transmission 

network that offers access to a diversity 

of energy resources within and across 

geographic regions, and that supports 

reliability and resilience through robust 

inter-regional transfer capability, 

requires deliberate planning and a 

different approach than has been used 

traditionally. Transmission planning 

processes have not generally been 

designed to identify long-term (beyond 

10-year planning cycles), flexible, and 

inter-regional solutions that will meet 

national interests by enhancing electric 

system resilience across regions. 

Modernizing transmission planning can 

provide greater certainty to drive 

investment to the highest-need 

transmission projects and enable 

development of the projects with the 

largest long-term benefit for consumers. 

DOE intends to consider the following 

actions to facilitate transmission 

planning: 

(1) National Transmission Needs 

Study. DOE intends to identify highpriority national transmission needs— 

specifically, to identify where new or 

upgraded transmission facilities could 

relieve expected future constraints and 

congestion driven by deployment of 

clean energy consistent with federal, 

state, and local policy and consumer 

preferences; higher electric demand as a 

result of building and transportation 

electrification; and insufficient transfer 

capacity across regions—by conducting 

a Transmission Needs Study. Consistent 

with authority provided by the Energy 

Policy Act of 2005 10 and the IIJA, this 

study will evaluate current and 

expected future electric transmission 

capacity constraints and congestion that 

could adversely affect consumers. DOE 

will consult with affected states, 

American Indian Tribes and Alaska 

Natives, and appropriate regional 

entities. The results of this needs 

assessment can inform the prioritization 

of the DOE financing authorities 

described in Section II.C of this 

document; designation of national 

interest electric transmission corridors 

(National Corridors), as described in 

Section II.D of this document, and 

regional transmission planning 

processes. 

(2) National Transmission Planning. 

In addition to the Transmission Needs 

Study, DOE is leading a national-scale, 

long-term (a 15- to 30-year) transmission 

planning analysis to identify 

transmission that will provide broadscale benefits to electric customers; 

inform regional and interregional 

transmission planning processes; and 

identify interregional and national 

strategies to accelerate decarbonization 

while maintaining system reliability. In 

partnership with the Pacific Northwest 

National Laboratory (PNNL) and the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

(NREL), DOE will work with 

stakeholders to help identify viable 

future grid realization pathways to a 

large-scale transmission system buildout 

that would accomplish clean energy 

goals. Robust stakeholder engagement 

will help define new scenarios for 

analysis to reach grid decarbonization 

goals cost effectively and under new 

high-stress conditions. As part of this 

process, DOE intends to work with the 

Department of Transportation, the 

Department of the Interior, the United 

States Forest Service, other federal and 

state agencies, and utilities as 

appropriate, to integrate existing rightsof-way into the National Transmission 

Planning Study, including existing rail 

and highway rights-of-way; the Bureau 

of Land Management’s (BLM) Westwide Energy Corridors; and other 

existing federal land and utility rightsof-way. 

(3) OSW Transmission Analysis. To 

inform the integration of OSW, DOE 

will conduct supportive analyses to 

identify transmission pathways and 

develop transmission strategies to 

integrate offshore wind, consistent with 

the Administration’s goal of 30 GW of 

OSW by 2030 and to set the stage for a 

more ambitious 2050 OSW deployment 

target. In November 2021, DOE 

launched the Atlantic Offshore Wind 

Transmission Study, a 2-year study led 

by NREL and PNNL. Through robust 

engagement with diversified stakeholder 

groups, this work evaluates coordinated 

transmission solutions to enable 

offshore wind energy deployment along 

the U.S. Atlantic Coast, addressing gaps 

in existing analyses.11

(4) Transmission Planning Technical 

Assistance. DOE will continue to 

develop and leverage modeling tools 

and capabilities to provide technical 

analysis to states and regions, and other 

agencies, where appropriate. This 

includes the research and capabilities 

created as part of the National 

Transmission Planning and the OSW 

Transmission Analysis above. The 

technical analysis and assistance aim to 

aid in long-term energy planning, policy 

implementation, and regulatory 

rulemaking, informed by core 

transmission planning precepts and in 

alignment with current federal and state 

public policy goals. The IIJA requires 

states to incorporate transmission 

planning as a mandatory feature of their 

energy plans and is supported with 

$500 million in increased funding for 

the State Energy Program. 

C. Financing 

Financial risk poses a significant 

barrier to pursuing large scale, multiregion transmission projects. 

Transmission projects require large, 

upfront investments. For regulated 

utility projects, returns are ultimately 

collected over long periods through 

rates charged to end-use customers, but 

it is difficult for such utilities to recover 

costs for transmission projects that cross 

multiple service territories and planning 

regions. Merchant transmission 

developers face challenges securing 

transmission customers before a project 

is built, but customer commitments are 

often needed to reduce investment risk. 

The IIJA provided critical new 

authorities and appropriations that the 

Department can use to help reduce 

financing challenges project sponsors 

may face and catalyze private 

investment in transmission. DOE 

intends to deploy these authorities 

while also continuing to make available 

existing financing tools. 

New Programs Authorized in IIJA: 

(1) Transmission Facilitation 

Program. The IIJA establishes a new 

$2.5B revolving fund to facilitate the 

construction of high capacity new, 

replacement, or upgraded transmission 

lines.12 This program will prioritize 

projects that improve resilience and 

reliability of the grid, facilitate interregional transfer of electricity, lower 

electric sector greenhouse gas 

emissions, and use advanced 

technology. DOE is authorized to do so 

through three separate tools. 

• DOE is authorized to serve as an 

anchor customer on new and upgraded 

transmission lines in order to facilitate 

the private financing and construction 

of the line. Under this authority, DOE 

would buy up to 50 percent of planned 

capacity from the developer for a term 

of up to 40 years. A purchase of capacity 

will not be considered a ‘‘major federal 

action’’ that would trigger 

environmental review pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA). DOE will then market the 

capacity it has purchased to recover the 


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13FPA section 216(h); 42 U.S.C. 824p(h). 

costs it has incurred once the project’s 

long-term financial viability is secured. 

• DOE is authorized to make loans for 

the cost of carrying out eligible 

transmission projects. 

• DOE is authorized to enter into 

public-private partnerships to codevelop projects that are located in a 

National Corridor or that are necessary 

to accommodate an increase in demand 

for interstate transmission, among other 

criteria. Such co-development can entail 

the design, development, construction, 

operation, maintenance, or ownership of 

a project. 

DOE intends to establish procedures 

for the administration of this program 

and for solicitation and selection of 

project applications. Further guidance 

will be forthcoming for this program. 

(2) Enhancing Grid Resilience. DOE 

will provide formula grants, competitive 

grants, and competitive awards across a 

number of provisions of the IIJA that 

allow for upgrading transmission 

infrastructure. DOE intends to issue 

solicitations for applications by states, 

American Indian Tribes, local 

communities, and industry. Further 

guidance and solicitations will be 

forthcoming for these programs. 

• Preventing Outages and Enhancing 

the Resilience of the Electric Grid—The 

IIJA authorizes DOE to make grants for 

supplemental hardening activities to 

reduce risks of power lines causing 

wildfires, and the likelihood and 

consequence of impacts to the electric 

grid due to extreme weather, wildfires, 

and natural disasters. This program is 

split between $2.5 billion in matching 

grants for industry and $2.5 billion in 

formula grants for states and American 

Indian tribes. 

• Program Upgrading Our Electric 

Grid and Ensuring Reliability and 

Resiliency—The IIJA authorizes DOE to 

provide $5 billion in competitive 

financial assistance to states, local 

governments, and American Indian 

tribes. This financial assistance must 

support electric sector owners and 

operators with projects that demonstrate 

innovative approaches to hardening and 

enhancing the resilience and reliability 

of transmission, storage, and 

distribution infrastructure. 

• Energy Improvement in Rural and 

Remote Areas—DOE is authorized to 

provide competitive grants to small 

cities, towns, and unincorporated areas 

to improve resilience, safety, reliability, 

and availability of energy; and that 

provide environmental protection from 

adverse impacts of energy generation. 

(3) Deployment of Technologies to 

Increase Capacity and Enhance 

Flexibility of the Existing Grid. The IIJA 

provides DOE with $3 billion to provide 

matching grants for the deployment of 

advanced grid technologies to enhance 

grid flexibility. Building on the success 

of the Smart Grid Investment Grant 

Program, this program now includes 

advanced transmission technologies 

such as dynamic line rating, flow 

control devices, advanced conductors, 

and network topology optimization, to 

increase the operational transfer 

capacity transmission networks. Further 

guidance and solicitations will be 

forthcoming for this program. 

Existing DOE Programs: 

(4) Loan Programs. DOE’s Loan 

Programs Office (LPO) administers a 

number of programs that can provide 

loan guarantees to help deploy largescale energy infrastructure projects in 

the United States, some of which have 

already been utilized to issue over $300 

million in Conditional Commitment for 

the construction and energization of a 

new transmission line. Under the Title 

17 Innovative Energy Loan Guarantee 

Program and the Tribal Energy Loan 

Guarantee Program, the Department is 

authorized to provide loan guarantees to 

projects that will expand and improve 

the transmission grid. Through these 

programs, LPO can offer borrowers 

access to debt capital, flexible financing 

customized for the specific needs of 

borrowers, and valuable expertise in 

energy infrastructure project 

development. LPO can also reduce the 

risk of investment in long-distance 

transmission projects by providing 

financing support for projects that 

analysis shows are likely to support 

repayment of the loan, even if those 

projects have not yet secured preconstruction agreements for 

transmission service for their full 

capacity. 

(5) Transmission Infrastructure 

Program (TIP). The Western Area Power 

Administration (WAPA) administers a 

unique federal infrastructure 

development assistance and financing 

program. TIP manages WAPA’s 

statutory $3.25 billion borrowing 

authority to provide debt financing and 

development assistance for qualifying 

transmission projects with at least one 

terminus in WAPA’s 15-state service 

territory and that facilitate delivery of 

renewable energy. The program 

leverages WAPA’s transmission project 

development expertise and WAPA’s 

borrowing authority, partnering with 

private and other non-federal coinvestment to support the development 

of critical transmission and related 

infrastructure in the West. 

D. Permitting 

The siting and permitting of interstate 

and inter-regional high-voltage 

transmission generally requires action 

by many different authorities governing 

the federal, state, local, and Tribal 

lands, as well as private lands, that 

facilities will pass through. Projects 

involving multiple agencies are subject 

to a wide array of processes and 

procedural requirements for compliance 

with legal mandates and multiple 

authorizations. The time required to 

meet these legal mandates can be 

reduced through effective planning 

processes that take advantage of existing 

rights-of-way, which as outlined 

previously, DOE intends to incorporate 

into its planning activities. As an 

example, DOE is coordinating with BLM 

as the agency updates its designated 

West-wide Energy Corridors. But where 

such rights-of-way are not available, 

siting and permitting processes can 

significantly slow development and 

should be conducted efficiently, with 

clear expectations and predictable 

timelines and processes. These aims 

should occur without sacrificing 

important analysis, protection of 

environmental, cultural, and other 

important values, or robust public 

engagement. DOE intends to coordinate 

with states and with federal permitting 

agencies to help facilitate the siting and 

permitting process, including through 

consideration of the following actions: 

(1) Federal Permitting Coordination. 

The Federal Permitting Improvement 

Steering Council (FPISC), established 

pursuant to Title 41 of the Fixing 

America’s Surface Transportation Act 

(‘‘FAST–41’’), and made permanent by 

IIJA, facilitates coordination and 

oversight procedures for federal 

environmental review and permitting 

process related to eligible large-scale 

infrastructure projects. IIJA provided 

additional authority to FPISC to include 

projects on the permitting dashboard. 

DOE will work with relevant agencies to 

evaluate and recommend whether to 

include nationally-significant 

transmission projects on the dashboard. 

In addition, DOE works with 

interagency partners to bolster preapplication planning for transmission 

projects through its Integrated 

Interagency Pre-Application Process, 

which allows transmission project 

developers a mechanism for early 

coordination and information sharing 

with permitting agencies.13 DOE intends 

to encourage developers to take 

advantage of the pre-application process 

in order to streamline federal permitting 

action. 

(2) Public-private partnership 

projects. The previously-described 

Transmission Facilitation Program, 


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14Energy Policy Act of 2005 section 1222; 42 

U.S.C. 16421. 

15FPA section 216(b); 16 U.S.C. 824p(b). 

16Section 216(a) of the FPA; 16 U.S.C. 824p(a). 

enacted as part of IIJA, includes 

authority for the Secretary to enter into 

public-private partnerships for the 

design, development, construction, 

operation, maintenance, and ownership 

of transmission facilities. In addition, 

the Secretary, acting through the 

Administrators of the Southwestern 

Power Administration (SWPA) or 

WAPA, has the authority to design, 

develop, construct, operate, maintain, or 

own, alone or in partnership with third 

parties, transmission system upgrades or 

new transmission lines and related 

facilities within states in which WAPA 

and SWPA operate.14 In exercising these 

authorities, DOE can help facilitate 

transmission development in areas 

where state or local permitting 

requirements would otherwise make a 

project difficult or impossible to 

complete. In carrying out either type of 

project, the Secretary may accept and 

use contributed funds from another 

entity, such as a transmission developer, 

to carry out the Department’s work on 

upgrades or on new projects. DOE may 

solicit interest in these public-private 

partnership projects, with a particular 

focus on projects that would fulfill 

transmission needs identified by the 

transmission planning actions outlined 

previously. 

(3) Designation of Route-Specific 

Transmission Corridors. The Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) 

has authority, clarified by the IIJA, to 

issue permits for the construction or 

modification of electric transmission 

facilities in National Corridors 

designated by the Secretary of Energy.15

IIJA also clarified that National 

Corridors can be any area experiencing 

or expected to experience electricity 

transmission capacity constraints or 

congestion that adversely affects 

consumers.16 DOE can designate a 

National Corridor after taking into 

consideration the Transmission Needs 

Study discussed previously and other 

information. In order to facilitate the 

efficient consideration of projects 

seeking a FERC-issued permit, DOE 

intends to provide a process for the 

designation of National Corridors on a 

route-specific, applicant-driven basis. 

DOE intends to give particular 

consideration to proposed National 

Corridors that, to the greatest degree 

possible, overlap with or utilize existing 

highway, rail, utility, and federal land 

rights-of-way. Further, in order to 

enable effective use of both DOE’s routespecific National Corridor process and 

FERC’s permitting process, DOE and 

FERC intend to work together, as 

appropriate, to establish coordinated 

procedures that facilitate efficient 

information gathering related to the 

scope of activities under review 

pursuant to these authorities. By 

harmonizing, to the greatest extent 

practicable, pre-filing and application 

processes, DOE and FERC can work 

with applicants to identify and resolve 

issues as quickly as possible; share 

information in a timely fashion; and 

expedite reviews conducted pursuant to 

these authorities, the National 

Environmental Policy Act, and other 

requirements. 

E. Transmission Research, 

Development, and Demonstration 

(RD&D) 

DOE continues to conduct RD&D to 

further develop and reduce the costs of 

technologies that enable the 

transmission system to be used more 

efficiently, including grid enhancing 

technologies, improved transmission 

conductors, and grid-related energy 

storage facilities. The National 

Laboratories’ research programs, in 

partnership with industry, are investing 

in the next generation of components 

and systems. DOE’s FY22 budget 

request prioritizes solicitations to 

support transmission technology 

development including transformers, 

high voltage direct current converter 

stations, and storage. 

DOE is also developing and 

improving analytical tools to more 

effectively support transmission 

deployment. DOE, in collaboration with 

several National Laboratories, is 

developing the North American Energy 

Resilience Model (NAERM), a nationalscale energy planning and real-time 

situational awareness tool. DOE is 

working to enable and expand NAERM’s 

capabilities to facilitate effective 

transmission planning. Currently 

deployed transmission planning tools 

include the Energy Zones Mapping 

Tool, an online mapping tool that can be 

used to identify potential energy 

resource areas and energy corridors, and 

the Transmission Resilience Maturity 

Model that enables utilities to measure 

the maturity of their transmission 

resilience programs and identify 

improvements to increase the resilience 

of their transmission systems. 

Moving forward, the Department will 

keep the public informed of its planned 

activities and progress related to this 

Building a Better Grid Initiative to 

expand and improve the Nation’s 

electric transmission grid. DOE is 

committed to robust engagement and 

collaboration with states, American 

Indian Tribes and Alaska Natives, 

industry, unions, local communities, 

environmental justice organizations, 

and other stakeholders. For additional 

information, interested parties may 

reach out to DOE’s Office of Electricity 

using the contact information provided 

in this Notice. 

Signing Authority 

This document of the Department of 

Energy was signed on January 11, 2022, 

by Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary of 

Energy. That document with the original 

signature and date is maintained by 

DOE. For administrative purposes only, 

and in compliance with requirements of 

the Office of the Federal Register, the 

undersigned DOE Federal Register 

Liaison Officer has been authorized to 

sign and submit the document in 

electronic format for publication, as an 

official document of the Department of 

Energy. This administrative process in 

no way alters the legal effect of this 

document on publication in the Federal 

Register. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on January 12, 

2022. 

Treena V. Garrett, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. 

Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2022–00883 Filed 1–18–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board, Northern New 

Mexico 

AGENCY: Office of Environmental 

Management, Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of open virtual meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces an 

online virtual combined meeting of the 

Consent Order Committee and Risk 

Evaluation and Management Committee 

of the Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), 

Northern New Mexico. The Federal 

Advisory Committee Act requires that 

public notice of this online virtual 

meeting be announced in the Federal 

Register. 

DATES: Wednesday, February 16, 2022; 

1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held 

virtually via WebEx. To attend, please 

contact Menice Santistevan by email, 

Menice.Santistevan@em.doe.gov, no 

later than 5:00 p.m. MT on Friday, 

February 11, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Menice Santistevan, Northern New 

Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board 


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