Business, environmental groups calling for passage of American Energy Innovation Act

Several business and environmental groups are calling for Congress to pass the American Energy Innovation Act (AEIA).

The AEIA would modernize the nation’s energy laws for the first time in more than 12 years. The legislation focuses on efficiency, renewables, carbon capture and removal, energy storage, advanced nuclear, clean vehicles, industrial energy, mineral security, grid and cybersecurity, and workforce development.

A letter was sent to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) by 72 groups and companies urging them to pass the bill this year.

“Thousands of jobs have been lost as energy projects have stalled, and office buildings and other businesses are shuttered. We cannot sustain and revitalize our economy without energy, and we now have both the challenge and opportunity to rebuild and retool our energy sector better and cleaner than before this global pandemic,” the groups wrote to the Senate leaders. “The AEIA can help boost economic growth while also sending a strong bipartisan signal of confidence that America will continue to be a leader in energy and industrial technology innovation. We need to invest now to have the right technologies for tomorrow. The bill would enable transformational investments in energy innovation that include renewable energy; hydropower and marine energy; geothermal energy; energy storage; energy efficiency; carbon capture, utilization, removal, and storage; advanced nuclear; supply chain management and other technologies.”

The letter was signed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Environmental Defense Fund, National Association of Manufacturers, The Nature Conservancy, the American Gas Association, Edison Electric Institute, North American Building Trades Union, Nuclear Energy Institute, and the U.S. Energy Storage Association, among others.