Forest Grove Light and Power has been awarded three federal grants to support energy resilience, sustainability, and community enhancement. The Department of Energy Grid Resilience Grant, a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant for low-income solar arrays, and a Department of Transportation grant for public-accessible EV charging infrastructure.
The $438,190 Energy Grid Resilience Grant will enhance our electric grid and assist in wildfire mitigation. The grant will offset the cost of relocating overhead high-voltage powerlines underground along David Hill Road between Thatcher Road and Forest Gale Drive. Relocating the lines underground alleviates the risk of utility-caused wildfires.
A $900,000 grant awarded by HUD, will be utilized to install solar arrays at two Light and Power substations. The revenue produced by the solar arrays will fund the Light and Power low-income energy assistance fund which helps those in financial need.
The Department of Transportation grant was awarded to a consortium of cities in the Metro boundary and surrounding areas. The shared grant award is $15,000,000 and will provide numerous EV charger installations in each awarded city. Charging infrastructure installations will focus on low-income multi-family locations and public areas such as parks, libraries, etc.
The City of Forest Grove is looking forward to these community-enhancing grants. Projects will begin sometime in 2025.