Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced $4.3 million in awards for resiliency research to encourage developers and researchers to modernize the state’s electric grid.
New York City will receive $663,000 to investigate technologies for microgrids. Microgrids are modern, centralized electricity grids adopted on a local level.
The funds are part of $4.3 million in grid research funds awarded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Smart Grid Program.
“The major storms over the past few years taught us the importance of improving the performance of utilities and strengthening the resilience of our electric grid for the future,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Proposals from applicants to the smart grid program needed to improve the reliability, efficiency, and performance of the electric power delivery system.
The microgrids would allow areas to operate with or independent of the electric grid of the city.
New York state received $1.3 billion in Tropical Storm Irene disaster relief funds, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The state was largely spared by the storm. Superstorm Sandy left much more damage in its wake, and Cuomo had asked for $32.8 billion in disaster relief.
