LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) is now accepting Preliminary Project Proposals for the Grid Resiliency Grant Program. Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Grid Resiliency Grant Program aims to improve the resiliency of the Nebraska electrical grid and promote a clean and equitable energy economy for all Nebraskans.

Eligible projects will rebuild and restore energy infrastructure for transmission and distribution, protect existing equipment from weather-related events, support new adaptive protection technology, and provide recruitment and retention of energy technology workers.

Eligible applicants include:

• Electric Grid Operators
• Electricity Storage Operators
• Electricity Generators
• Transmission Owners and Operators
• Distribution Providers
• Fuel Suppliers

Eligible entities are strongly encouraged to submit pre-proposals which provide NDEE with a general outline of each project using a two-page preliminary proposal checklist. The checklist can be found on NDEE’s website at: https://dee.nebraska.gov/forms/publications-grants-forms/23-023.

Applicants should submit their pre-proposals to ndee.gridresiliency@nebraska.gov.

The Preliminary Project Proposal Checklist includes:

• eligible entity determination
• a project summary,
• estimated project costs, and
• verification that program requirements, including cost match requirements, can be met.

NDEE will assess pre-proposals for eligibility and alignment with program objectives. Prospective grantees may submit multiple pre-proposals at this time, one for each project. However, during the application period, grantees will be limited to one application submission that focuses on funding for a single project.

Pre-proposals are due to NDEE by Jan. 31, 2024. The dates for the full application period will be announced at a later date, and awards are currently expected to be announced in the fall of 2024.

For more information, please visit https://dee.nebraska.gov/aid/energy-loans-grants-rebates/preventing-outages-and-enhancing-resilience-electric-gridhazard-hardening. Questions can be directed to NDEE.gridresiliency@nebraska.gov.