42 U.S.C. § 18715b — Interregional and offshore wind electricity transmission planning, modeling, and analysis

(a) Appropriation. Congress appropriates the Secretary $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, usable through September 30, 2031, to carry out this section. (b) Use of funds. The Secretary must use this money (1) to pay expenses for convening stakeholders on developing interregional electricity transmission and transmission of offshore-wind-generated electricity, and (2) to plan, model, and analyze interregional electricity transmission and offshore-wind transmission, weighing local, regional, and national economic, reliability, resilience, security, public policy, and environmental benefits. As the Secretary decides is appropriate, this work may cover: (A) fitting clean energy into the grid, including identifying renewable energy zones; (B) how weather changes from climate change affect grid reliability and resilience; (C) cost-allocation methods that help expand the bulk power system; (D) the benefits of coordinating generator-interconnection processes with transmission-planning processes; (E) the effects of increased electrification on the grid; (F) power flow modeling; (G) the benefits of more interconnections or interties among the Western Interconnection, the Eastern Interconnection, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, and other interconnections, as applicable; (H) coordinating transmission and generation planning, including variable energy resources, energy storage, and demand-side management; (I) opportunities to use non-transmission alternatives, energy storage, and grid-enhancing technologies; (J) economic development opportunities for communities from developing interregional and offshore-wind transmission; (K) reviewing existing rights-of-way and the need for additional transmission corridors; and (L) a planned national transmission grid that would include a networked system to optimize the existing grid for connecting offshore wind farms.