ELLY GRIMM
Leader & Times
The importance of maintaining the state’s energy grid has been a hot topic and recently, the State of Kansas announced some funding that will help with just that.
Tuesday, Gov. Laura Kelly announced 11 Kansas communities have secured more than $17 million for energy grid resilience.
“This investment combines nearly $12 million in federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s 40101(d) Grid Resilience Grant Program and more than $5.8 million in matching funds from the Kansas Infrastructure Hub and Build Kansas Fund,” Gov. Kelly noted in a release from the State of Kansas. “By leveraging federal funds to supplement our state and local investments, we are strengthening opportunities for economic growth across Kansas. The 40101(d) Grid Resiliency program ensures our communities have the resources to build, operate, or maintain critical infrastructure.”
“The survival and economic development of our rural communities are dependent on a solid infrastructure,” Representative Troy Waymaster, chair of the Build Kansas Fund Advisory Committee noted in the State of Kansas release. “The awards made through the Build Kansas Fund Advisory Committee, and ultimately approved by the U.S. Department of Energy, ensure that these communities will continue to thrive. I am glad these eleven Kansas projects were selected for this program.”
Included in the 11 Kansas projects receiving grid resiliency funding are:
• City of Garden City – Underground Conductor and Transformer Replacement
Build Kansas Funding – $302,590
Federal Funding Awarded – $626,048
Total Project – $928,638
• Victory Electric – South Dodge City Grid Resiliency
Build Kansas Funding – $715,395
Federal Funding Awarded – $1,480,129
Total Project – $2,195,524
• Pioneer Electric Cooperative – Grid Resiliency, Vulnerability, and Innovation Initiative
Build Kansas Funding – $1,575,449
Federal Funding Awarded – $3,259,551
Total Project – $4,835,000
Other state leaders praised the funding.
“The importance of grid resiliency cannot be overstated,” Rick Pemberton, energy division director for the Kansas Corporation Commission, noted in the State of Kansas release. “Safe and reliable power infrastructure is vital to our rural economy.”
“Rural Kansas communities do not always have the funding needed to meet the match requirements of large federal grants,” said Matthew Volz, P.E., executive director of the Kansas Infrastructure Hub. “Having the Build Kansas Fund available can make all the difference in whether or not they can apply for these lucrative federal funding opportunities.”
In addition to these awards, in recent months, the Build Kansas Fund has been used to leverage federal grant awards in the cities of Ozawkie, Manhattan, Russell, Concordia, Dodge City, Topeka, Nortonville, Ellsworth, Edgerton, Hutchinson, Independence; Coffey and Morton County; Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District; and the Salina Airport Authority. The combined total investment by the Build Kansas Fund in all projects is just over $28.5 million, which has resulted in federal grant awards of more than $44 million.
“The Kansas Infrastructure Hub connects multiple state agencies and serves as a resource center for Kansas communities to identify best practices for maximizing BIL funding opportunities,” the State of Kansas release noted. “The Build Kansas Fund provides state matching dollars for projects throughout Kansas that successfully apply for federal grants under BIL. In 2023, the Kansas Legislature and Governor Kelly approved $200 million for the Build Kansas Fund to provide state-matching dollars to Kansas entities and projects to meet federal-local match requirements.”
