Energy Dept. Pours Billions Into Power Grids but Warns It’s Not Enough

The Energy Department on Monday announced $1.3 billion to help build three large power lines across six states, part of a new gusher of money from Washington to upgrade America’s electric grids so they can handle more wind and solar power and better tolerate extreme weather.

But officials warned that money won’t be enough. In a major report published the same day, the Energy Department said that the nation’s vast network of transmission lines may need to expand by two-thirds or more by 2035 to meet President Biden’s goals to power the country with clean energy.

That would help slash carbon dioxide emitted by gas and coal-fired electric plants — pollution that is heating the planet. But it would require hundreds of billions of dollars in investment and a frenzied pace of construction. “We need to seriously build out transmission,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.

There is no single grid. The nation’s electric system is divided into a patchwork of regions, each overseen by different operators. But many face similar challenges.