Biden Announces Climate Investment Plan To Upgrade California’s Electric Grid And Boost Coastal Communities

President Joe Biden announced major new federal funding on Monday to help battle climate change, with tens of millions of dollars targeted at California.

The president announced two separate pools of money. The Commerce Department will be offering $600 million to coastal community projects designed to lessen the damage from erosion, storm surge, and other flooding. The Department of Energy will provide $2 billion to upgrade the country's electric grid, of which California will see more than $67 million.

Biden's climate and infrastructure bills from last year will fund the investments.

Speaking in Palo Alto, President Biden said the funding for the electric grid could help strengthen that system during heatwaves, storms, and other climate events, “so the lights can stay on in hospital operating rooms, nursing homes, and so many other critical care facilities,” he said.

California's electric grid has been under enormous strain during periods of extreme heat. Officials have worked to improve the state's electrical grid since last summer, but scientists expect temperatures to keep reaching record highs.

A competition for coastal communities

The coastal communities initiative will be a competitive grant, dubbed the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge. The president said details would be made public on Tuesday.

Biden pointed to the dozen-plus atmospheric rivers that flooded Monterey Bay and killed 21 people this March.

"That comes on the heels of the worst drought in California in more than a millennia and the highest sea level rise in more than a century," he said. "I've seen wildfire devastation across the west, burning more acres to the ground than are square miles in the state of Maryland."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated in January that last year's natural disasters caused more than $165 billion in damage to the country.