Clean energy coalition requests more federal funds for high-voltage transmission deployment
A coalition of more than 30 companies and organizations committed to building America’s clean energy future recently requested that the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) fiscal year 2023 budget includes robust funding for high-voltage transmission deployment and research.
“Our energy transmission infrastructure is essential to providing Americans access to the power they need. To ensure American families and businesses always have access to power, it is imperative that we invest in and build new transmission to make our grid more reliable, resilient and interconnected,” coalition members wrote in an April 29 letter sent to congressional energy and water appropriations leaders. “Upgraded and expanded transmission lines will keep costs down by bringing diverse types of affordable, clean power to more communities.”
Specifically, coalition participants seek enhanced funding for high-voltage transmission deployment and research through the DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, Loan Programs Office, and Office of Electricity, writing that such new funds for these offices will “drive substantial clean energy deployment, unleash billions in private investment, create thousands of new jobs, deliver low-cost energy to benefit customers, and substantially reduce emissions,” according to their letter.
The coalition encouraged members on the Energy and Water Development Subcommittees in both chambers of Congress to consider additional funding for the Transmission Facilitation Program; for deploying technologies to enhance grid flexibility; grants for enhancing grid resilience; and for loan guarantees, converter stations, national transmission planning needs and long-term planning studies, and transmission planning technical assistance for states.
“The expansion and modernization of our national power grid is central to meeting our nation’s urgent climate and energy security goals,” wrote the coalition. “Congress took critical first steps to meeting these goals in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) by investing $2.5 billion in direct spending for new transmission and expanding programs aimed at enhancing our grid resilience.
“However, more will be necessary going forward,” coalition members wrote. “Some estimates suggest that fully decarbonizing our electric grid will require high-voltage transmission capacity to expand by 60 percent by 2030, and to triple by 2050.”
Investments via the FY 2023 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill in grid infrastructure will be critical moving forward, they wrote.
The signatories on the letter include the Advanced Power Alliance, American Clean Power Association, American Council on Renewable Energy, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, Anbaric, Apex Clean Energy, Avangrid, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Clean Energy Buyers Association, CustomerFirst Renewables LLC, Direct Connect Development Company, EDF Renewables, Enel North America, ENGIE North America Inc, Hannon Armstrong, IBEW Local 1245, Infrastructure & Energy Alternatives (IEA), Innergex, Invenergy, Lightsource bp, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ocean Winds NA, Ørsted, Pine Gate Renewables, Renewable Northwest, RES Group, Smart Wires Inc, Sol Systems, Solar Energy Industries Association, TPI Composites Inc., VEIR, and the WATT Coalition.
