(a) Appropriation
In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is appropriated to the Secretary for fiscal year 2022, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $100,000,000, to remain available through September 30, 2031, to carry out this section.
(b) Use of fundsThe Secretary shall use amounts made available under subsection (a)—
(1)
to pay expenses associated with convening relevant stakeholders to address the development of interregional electricity transmission and transmission of electricity that is generated by offshore wind; and
(2) to conduct planning, modeling, and analysis regarding interregional electricity transmission and transmission of electricity that is generated by offshore wind, taking into account the local, regional, and national economic, reliability, resilience, security, public policy, and environmental benefits of interregional electricity transmission and transmission of electricity that is generated by offshore wind, including planning, modeling, and analysis, as the Secretary determines appropriate, pertaining to—
(A)
clean energy integration into the electric grid, including the identification of renewable energy zones;
(B)
the effects of changes in weather due to climate change on the reliability and resilience of the electric grid;
(D)
the benefits of coordination between generator interconnection processes and transmission planning processes;
(G)
the benefits of increased interconnections or interties between or among the Western Interconnection, the Eastern Interconnection, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, and other interconnections, as applicable;
(H)
the cooptimization of transmission and generation, including variable energy resources, energy storage, and demand-side management;
(I)
the opportunities for use of nontransmission alternatives, energy storage, and grid-enhancing technologies;