About the Infrastructure Act Passed in November 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides nearly $1 trillion in funding over five years for investments in the nation's infrastructure, including funding for roads and bridges, rail, transit, ports, airports, electric grid, water systems, and broadband, among other priorities.
R36 Solutions was initially created to help its clients deliver on the vision, goals, and promises of the Infrastructure Act. The team was strategically assembled to ensure that it contained the breadth, experience, knowledge, and expertise necessary to support the successful development, delivery, and life cycle management of winning IIJA proposals for its clients.
Funding for the IIJA will flow through more than 350 programs across more than a dozen Federal departments and agencies. Approximately $550 billion will be new federal funding to support roads and bridges, public transit, freight and passenger rail, ports and airports; investment in broadband infrastructure; water systems; modernizing the power sector; and improving climate resilience.
This is an exciting time for growth and innovation. The IIJA is a part of a larger focus across the U.S. to ensure the resiliency, reliability, and security of the nation’s various utility grids, transportation systems and broadband communications fabric so that they will perform optimally against climate, cyber, and other forms of disruption or disaster. The IIJA offers a wealth of opportunities for our clients, and those opportunities are particularly prevalent across the Energy, Broadband and Transportation industries.
The IIJA provides billions of dollars to states, local governments, and energy providers to modernize the grid, build needed electric transmission capabilities, enhance energy system resilience, expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and advance building energy efficiency, smart manufacturing, carbon capture and utilization, renewables, and other important energy actions. The new law provides $25 billion for energy technology demonstration projects, of which $21.5 billion will be administered through a new DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. The law also includes $5 billion over five years for projects that demonstrate “innovative approaches to transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure to harden and enhance resilience and reliability” of the U.S. electric grid, and another $5 billion over the same period for grants to improve the resilience of existing grid infrastructure.
The IIJA provides $30.7 billion to advance the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) and the associated infrastructure, including $7.5 billion in new federal funding for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and the creation of two new Federal EV charging station programs intended to establish a national network of 500,000 EV chargers. In December, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Energy (DOE) announced the creation of a new joint office designed to leverage resources across agencies and coordinate the federal approach to deploying a national network of charging stations, providing technical assistance to states and localities, and guiding the disbursement of funds. The IIJA also allocated $10.3 billion for grid and battery-related investments.
Between the American Rescue Plan Act broadband funding and the IIJA, we are in “the Golden Age of Broadband Funding.” This is a rare moment in history where the Nation is confronting the reality that broadband is an essential service like water and electricity. Policymakers from the President, Congress, and Governors to state legislators and public utility regulators have recognized the importance of ensuring a robust and widely available broadband infrastructure.
The IIJA provides $65 billion for broadband infrastructure, digital adoption, and digital equity. The key agency overseeing the grants is the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). NTIA will provide $100 M in block grants to each State (with additional allocations to the Territories, DC and Puerto Rico) for broadband initiatives. R36 Solutions will be tracking the progress of each state and territory as they build their state plans. We will also be monitoring the efforts of NTIA and the FCC to bring discounted broadband service and devices to unconnected low-income households.
R36 Solutions was strategically assembled to ensure that it included the deep domain knowledge and expertise necessary to help our clients deliver on the vision, goals, and promises of the IIJA. Our team stands ready to work with our clients to position them to successfully deliver new and modernize existing infrastructure by accessing funding from the vast and complex IIJA. We have exceptional capabilities to assist our clients with the Energy (Division D), Broadband (Division F) and Rural Development (Division J) opportunities presented by the Act. Our expertise encompasses both Federal and state funding program engagement and award process management that blends our deep knowledge and experience across both the technical and business aspects of electric utility energy environments, fixed and mobile broadband communications, microgrids, distributed energy resources, and the emerging electric vehicle systems market.
R36 Solutions will help our clients break down the complexities of the IIJA and identify the funding opportunities that best align with their business priorities. We will work with our clients to develop a compliant and compelling grant proposal, one that includes persuasive messaging that connects with the priorities of the funders. We will also help identify project partners, obtain Congressional support and raise your visibility with potential funders and key decision makers.
Once a project has been awarded, R36 Solutions can support its small and medium-sized clients in planning, execution, and on-going system life cycle management of those projects.