Generac To Bag $50 Mln Federal Funding To Boost Grid Resilience

(RTTNews) - Generac Holdings, Inc. (GNRC), a maker of power products, announced on Monday that it has been selected to enter into negotiations by the Department of Energy to receive $50 million in funding as part of the DOE's Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership or GRIP.

GRIP is a $10.5 billion investment to enhance grid flexibility, improve the resilience of the power system against extreme weather, to ensure access to affordable and reliable energy in the U.S.

Generac, in collaboration with the California Water Association or CWA, aims to integrate clean energy solutions with water utilities statewide.

For this, the total investment is estimated to be around $100 million across about 100 California water utility sites, especially in disadvantaged communities.

Under the project, microgrids, which will utilize battery energy storage and be managed by distributed energy resource management systems, will form virtual power plants capable of delivering reliable load reduction during times of grid stress.

In addition, the project, with at least 55 percent of sites in DACs, will lead to improved air and water quality, reliability, and operational savings.

California's electric grid is increasingly challenged by aging infrastructure, rising demands from electrification, and the effects of extreme weather.