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Louisiana DENR Granted $249 Million in Federal Energy Resilience Funding

Contact: Patrick Courreges, 225-342-0510

Louisiana DENR Granted $249 Million in Federal Energy Resilience Funding

Hubs for Energy Resilient Operations (HERO) program will provide funding to energy resilience pilot projects in state

BATON ROUGE – Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Tyler Gray announced today the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has given final approval for and released $249 million in federal Infrastructure Investment and Job Act funds to support pilot projects in the state aimed at encouraging innovation in energy grid resilience and reliability for mission critical facilities in the state’s most vulnerable areas.

The Louisiana Hubs for Energy Resilient Energy Operation (HERO) program will be managed through DENR’s Office of Energy, drawing from DOE’s Grid Innovation Program (GRIP) that will invest up to $5 billion in innovation and new approaches to transmission, distribution, storage, and regional resilience. Louisiana’s HERO program will also draw from $249 million in matching commitments from state partners such as the Louisiana Public Service Commission, Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, City of New Orleans, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy New Orleans, Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, Together Louisiana, University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Xavier University of Louisiana, including $22 million from the state general fund over the life of the eight-year project.

The HERO program will focus on supporting projects that use innovative approaches to transmission, storage and distribution infrastructure to enhance grid resilience and reliability. Though DOE initially announced the award amount in 2023, the funds were not released until DENR worked with DOE on final approval of projects the funding would be used to support. 

“Louisiana’s HERO program will establish an approach for accelerating more ample, affordable, and reliable energy for greater power resilience in the face of the kind of extreme weather we are particularly vulnerable to, living and working at the intersection of flood-prone rivers and hurricanes from the Gulf of Mexico,” said DENR Secretary Tyler Gray. “We will be looking to support the kind of critical facilities that in turn protect our most vulnerable communities through projects that promote diverse energy sources and resilient infrastructure for reliable power so that our people have the energy they need when they need it most.”

Through extensive discussions with DOE regarding project implementation, DENR’s focus remains centered on improving critical infrastructure throughout the state to ensure the availability of uninterrupted energy in a manner that will enhance the quality of life for Louisianans, Gray said.

As a result, DENR will prioritize this funding to implement pilot projects designed to identify the most efficient energy production and storage practices to develop future large state projects that will help address future residential and commercial energy needs.

To achieve this goal, DENR, through the Office of Energy, will remain heavily invested in working closely with community partners in the planning process to identify hotspots of the most significant energy burden, storm risks, long-duration outages, and grid congestion.

Furthermore, DENR is committed to working closely with the Center for Energy Studies to monitor each project, to deliver scalable models to inform future energy investments, ensuring that any future large-scale projects have backing from independent data analysis and meet the needs of the state and its utility and community needs in the future.

The state’s initial efforts will be partnering on 13 pilot projects, providing $144 million in HERO funding to add to the match provided by pilot grant recipients in cities around the state –

• Baton Rouge - $2.6 million in HERO funding for energy resilience at National Guard Armed Forces Reserve Center
• Bossier City - $1.69 million in HERO funding for deployable battery hub
• Carville - $2.68 million in HERO funding for energy resilience at National Guard Gillis W. Long Center
• Hammond - $2.6 million in in HERO funding for energy resilience at National Guard Aviation Support Facility
• Houma - $3.6 million in HERO funding for Terrebonne Parish Civic Center
• Kenner - $2 million in HERO funding for deployable battery hub
• Lake Charles - $2.6 million in HERO funding for energy resilience at National Guard Chennault Airport
• Lafayette - $700,000 in HERO funding for mobile solar and Wi-Fi kiosks
• Metairie - $486,000 in HERO funding for energy resilience at Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans
• Monroe - $750,000 in HERO funding for energy resilience at The Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation
• New Iberia - $7 million in HERO funding for Bio Safety Level 3 Facility
• New Orleans - $1.2 million in HERO funding for energy resilience at Dillard University
• New Orleans - $20.5 million in HERO funding for upgrades at the Sewerage and Water Board West Power Complex

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