US invests $3.5 billion to bolster power grid, deploy clean energy

US invests $3.5 billion to bolster power grid, deploy clean energy: WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday announced $3.5 billion in grants for projects to protect the aging U.S. power grid from extreme weather and fires and to connect transmission systems with more electricity from renewable energy sources. The funding for 58 projects across 44 states comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law Biden signed in 2021, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said, and is the largest-ever direct investment in the grid. The U.S. power grid, much of it built nearly a century ago, is being strained by storms, floods and heat waves fueled by climate change even as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence are boosting power demand, Granholm told reporters in a call.