The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Guam for a $21.2 million investment in a “real-time” intelligent electricity transmission upgrade to support the island’s role in broader national strategy and the joint local-federal push to optimize grid hardening, discussed during a meeting held in San Francisco in September.
The Guam Real-Time Intelligence for Transmission, or GRIT, project was selected as one of 31 projects nationwide, according to Adelup, which said the project is part of DOE’s “highly competitive” Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades, or SPARK, initiative.
Adelup said the GRIT project is critical to three broader grid-hardening and underground projects, which account for an initial $388 million phase of a multiyear plan involving more than $1.5 billion in total system security investments.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said the collaboration has involved eight years of “systematically” strengthening partnerships between local and federal governments.
“This collaboration culminated last month in San Francisco, where we met with over 100 representatives from across the federal bureaucracy — including leadership from the Department of Energy,” Leon Guerrero said.
According to the governor, the investment reflects Guam’s shift to the forefront of national defense.
“We are not just burying wires; we are fundamentally altering our system’s architecture to make the entire island grid smarter, safer, and infinitely more dependable for both our civilian population and national defense assets,” the governor said.