DOE Selects 31 Grid Projects Worth $5.25 Billion Across 26 States

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 31 transmission projects across 26 states for its SPARK initiative, with a combined value of $5.25 billion. That figure is the projects’ total value, not federal spending. The DOE is committing $1.9 billion, about 36% of the total; utilities, cooperatives, state agencies and companies are expected to provide the remaining $3.35 billion.

The planned work would rebuild more than 1,500 miles of transmission lines, add grid-enhancing technologies to nearly 21,000 more miles and free up more than 23 GW of capacity. SPARK is the third round of the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program, funded through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The DOE’s announcement does not mention AI or data centers. The funding notice does list enabling data centers as a qualifying benefit, while only 3 of the 31 project summaries explicitly name AI or data centers as direct beneficiaries. Those projects total about $371 million, or roughly 7% of the funding described.

Selections are not yet signed awards. The DOE expects to finalize them between October 2026 and January 2027, and says it can redirect or discontinue funding at go/no-go checkpoints. The article’s source notes that the new grid capacity could support large electricity users, including data centers, but does not establish how the projects will affect household bills.