LINCOLN- Nebraska has been awarded nearly $11 million of federal funding in efforts to modernize the nation’s electric grid and fight the climate crisis. The U.S. Department of Energy announced that Nebraska will be sent $10.8 million through the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants program. Nebraska is among the seventh cohort of recipients, which includes eight other states and five tribes for a combined grant total of $125 million.

The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy will distribute the funds in a competitive grant process through a soon-to-be-created Grid Resiliency Grant Program. The state is expected to receive $27 million total over five years. The funding is available through the bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021, which U.S. Rep. Don Bacon and U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer supported.

Funding will help the state’s electricity industry and its ability to withstand weather-related incidents — such as storms or heat waves — but also physical attacks and cyberattacks. A department news release states it is imperative to modernize the state’s power grid to be more reliable and resilient as energy use transitions from fossil fuels to electricity.

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