U.S. Rep. Castor introduces bill to help American gain more access to clean energy
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) introduced legislation designed to help Americans power their homes with clean energy by connecting more renewable energy to the electric grid.
The Efficient Grid Interconnection Act of 2021 would direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to allocate network upgrade costs among all beneficiaries equitably. Further, it would direct FERC to require grid operators to study deploying grid-enhancing technologies to defray the costs of traditional transmission upgrades.
“Expanding access to affordable, clean energy will save families money on their utility bills, create jobs in communities across America, reduce pollution, and improve public health across the board,” Castor, chair of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, said. “It’s time to put Americans to work building new wind, solar, and energy storage projects. By making our grid more efficient, we’ll also put money back in the pockets of working families, as we eliminate the barriers that stand between them and cheap, renewable energy. This bill will help us continue to unlock America’s clean energy potential, a vital step in our fight to solve the climate crisis.”
According to a recent study by Americans for a Clean Energy Grid and the Macro Grid Initiative, interconnection challenges continue to hurt consumers, communities, and developers through higher electricity rates, higher capital costs, and wasted job-creating opportunities in rural areas. Expanding access to clean energy will help resolve these issues, Castor said, creating jobs, facilitating rural economic development, and enhancing federal and state tax revenues.
“The Efficient Grid Interconnection Act of 2021 would remove a longstanding roadblock to America’s clean energy future,” Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy, said. “Today’s grid interconnection policies are largely analogous to requiring the next car entering a crowded highway to pay the entire bill for a needed lane expansion. It doesn’t make sense, and it has kept hundreds of thousands of megawatts of wind, solar, and energy storage resources stuck in interconnection queues. By directing FERC to appropriately allocate interconnection costs across the full universe of beneficiaries, this legislation will help unlock that queue and accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy.”
The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Julia Brownley (D-CA), Sean Casten (D-IL), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Scott Peters (D-CA), and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). It is supported by the American Council on Renewable Energy, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, the Solar Energy Industries Association, ITC Holdings, Enel North America, the WATT Coalition, Sustainable FERC Project, Earthjustice, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
