As I wrote in February, the U.S. Department of Energy has $760M burning a hole in its pocket. The Inflation Reduction Act created the Transmission Siting and Economic Development Grant Program, which intends to give your tax dollars away to get new transmission built faster. The program proposes to give grants to state and local siting authorities (your state utility commission) for the purpose of studying new transmission proposals, creating public engagement, and approving them lickety split. But that's not all... the geniuses have also come up with "economic development" grants for "communities" affected by the construction and operation of new transmission projects. The grants are available through your local government. If you want to make some quick cash for "economic development" projects, just form an organization and ask your county to assist you in applying.
But the DOE forgot to define an "affected community." Who is "affected" by new transmission? Is it the landowners who are coerced to grant easements for the project under threat of eminent domain? Is it adjacent landowners who won't have easements but may still have to look at it every day? How far out from the center line of the new transmission project does an "affected community" spread? What if it is on the other side of the county, where they won't see or hear any construction or operation? Is it a nearby city or town that also will not see or hear it? What is an "affect"? DOE somehow fails to say in its wordy rules for applying for one of these grants.
But the DOE forgot to define an "affected community." Who is "affected" by new transmission? Is it the landowners who are coerced to grant easements for the project under threat of eminent domain? Is it adjacent landowners who won't have easements but may still have to look at it every day? How far out from the center line of the new transmission project does an "affected community" spread? What if it is on the other side of the county, where they won't see or hear any construction or operation? Is it a nearby city or town that also will not see or hear it? What is an "affect"? DOE somehow fails to say in its wordy rules for applying for one of these grants.
Either DOE is going to be flooded with applications from governments and organizations who have only a tertiary relationship to an "affected community" but a huge appetite for government cash, or it is not going to get ANY applications at all. Landowners and persons living on or near new transmission lines won't be forming organizations and begging for taxpayer cash. They simply want the transmission project to go away... maybe it can go in the backyards of the grant recipients? Wouldn't that be ideal?
DOE is holding another one of its ridiculous webinars that almost nobody attends to explain to the public how its new TSED program works and how to apply. The webinar is scheduled for September 14. You can sign up here.
DOE is holding another one of its ridiculous webinars that almost nobody attends to explain to the public how its new TSED program works and how to apply. The webinar is scheduled for September 14. You can sign up here.
Ask them who is eligible, and how "affected" your community must be to receive a grant.
This is nothing but taxpayer funded bribery. Pretty amusing that DOE will prohibit using any of its grant funds to lobby federal elected representatives (Congress) but has no prohibition on lobbying your state elected officials, your state public service commission, or any other entity that must approve the project before it can be built. Don't they realize that these grants ARE lobbying at the local level?
And how are these grants to unaffected organizations going to speed up the siting and permitting of new transmission projects? They won't. No landowner in his right mind would support a transmission project across his property in exchange for bribe money given to an unaffected person or organization.
This program is headed nowhere but to court, however it's going to waste millions of your tax dollars on the way. But don't worry, it's reducing inflation, don't ya know?
This is nothing but taxpayer funded bribery. Pretty amusing that DOE will prohibit using any of its grant funds to lobby federal elected representatives (Congress) but has no prohibition on lobbying your state elected officials, your state public service commission, or any other entity that must approve the project before it can be built. Don't they realize that these grants ARE lobbying at the local level?
And how are these grants to unaffected organizations going to speed up the siting and permitting of new transmission projects? They won't. No landowner in his right mind would support a transmission project across his property in exchange for bribe money given to an unaffected person or organization.
This program is headed nowhere but to court, however it's going to waste millions of your tax dollars on the way. But don't worry, it's reducing inflation, don't ya know?
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