The U.S. Department of Energy said that an agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority will expand the energy grid across eight states, adding 2.5 gigawatts of grid capacity. 

The $581 million grant includes $250 million in federal funding and about $331 million in cost-share funding from the applicant, the Energy Department said in a release, following an announcement made in Knoxville. 

The project will support 800 jobs, the department said in a statement. The Center Square was unsuccessful in getting more information about the jobs from the Department of Energy. 

The funding is part of the Resilience Amplified: Multi-Market Grid Interconnection Initiative award under the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships and is designed to help communities prepare for disasters such as hurricanes Helene and Milton, which swept through the Southeast in 2024, according to the department's website. 

“America is blessed with an abundance of natural resources and some of the most advanced technology in the world, but we must have the generation and transmission infrastructure necessary to support our rapidly growing economy and its electricity needs," said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly in a statement. "These investments with TVA will help reduce congestion, improve efficiency, and make better use of our existing transmission system to lower costs for ratepayers while delivering affordable, reliable, and secure energy essential to American prosperity.”