NLI: Northern Lights, Inc. > Inside Ruralite > Northern Lights Receives $2.1 Million Federal Grant for Grid Upgrades to Mitigate Hazard Risks

Northern Lights Receives $2.1 Million Federal Grant for Grid Upgrades to Mitigate Hazard Risks

NLI will use grant funding to upgrade and reroute portions of an existing power line between 2 substations on opposite sides of the Pend Oreille River near Laclede, Idaho. Photo courtesy of Corner Booth Media

Northern Lights Inc. (NLI) has received $2.1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to enhance wildfire protection and resilience in the communities it serves by making critical upgrades to its electric system.

NLI is a member of a consortium of 38 electric co-ops and other rural utilities selected to receive federal funding through the Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks project or WARN.

NLI has proposed to upgrade and reroute portions of an existing power line that is a critical tie between 2 substations on opposite sides of the Pend Oreille River near Laclede, Idaho. This project will construct about a half-mile of new underground power line south of the river, and upgrade 5 1/2 miles of overhead power line on the north side of the river. These 2 sections of the power line will be connected through a new cable bored underneath the Pend Oreille River. This project will improve resiliency, and reliability and provide increased protection from all hazards, including extreme weather events and wildfires.

Led by Holy Cross Energy—a cooperative utility based in Colorado—in coordination with National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Research, WARN will provide more than $145 million in wildfire mitigation funding to co-ops across 16 states in the central and western United States to drive energy resilience in high-risk rural areas.

“Electric cooperatives are focused on leveraging innovative solutions to meet tomorrow’s energy needs,” NRECA CEO Jim Matheson says. “This infrastructure funding is an important step as electric co-ops work to harden systems against wildfires and enhance the reliability of the grid. These projects hold tremendous potential for local communities as their co-ops unlock new ways to use technology to help mitigate wildfires and keep the lights on.”

Working together, consortium members will share lessons learned and expertise and provide real-world data to create an advanced analysis tool to identify the likely impacts of utility-ignited wildfires on regional electricity supplies and local communities.

WARN funding comes from the Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.