A coalition of over 40 clean energy organizations, environmental groups, developers, manufacturers, labor and consumer groups, and other nonprofits[1] sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee on April 24, 2023, urging Congress to provide robust funding for high-capacity transmission deployment and research through the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fiscal Year 2024 budget.[2] The organizations highlighted the new research, such as the DOE’s draft Transmission Needs Study, emphasizing the “pressing need for additional electric transmission infrastructure” in nearly all regions of the country. The letter states that increased funding for the Grid Deployment Office (GDO), Office of Electricity (OE), and Energy Information Administration (EIA) “is critical to 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.”
Specifically, the organizations encouraged Congress to consider funding for the GDO to support innovative efforts to address planning and permitting challenges to enable a resilient and reliable electricity system; support for GDO to designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors on a route-specific, applicant-driven basis; funding for the OE to help ensure the electric grid is resilient to increasingly severe weather, cyber, and physical attacks; robust investment in the Transmission Reliability and Resilience and Applied Grid Transformation Solutions programs; and additional funding for the EIA to upgrade its emissions data dashboard.
[1] American Clean Power Association, American Council on Renewable Energy, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, BlueGreen Alliance, Business Council for Sustainable Energy, Cypress Creek Renewables, Enel North America, Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Innergex Renewable Energy, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Unit 1245, Invenergy, Longroad Energy, National Electrical Manufacturers Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, NextEra Energy Transmission, Niskanen Center, Onward Energy, Pattern Energy, Pine Gate Renewables, Sol Systems, Solar Energy Industries Association, SOLV Energy, TPI Composites, VEIR, and Vestas-American Wind Technology.
[2] https://cleanpower.org/news/40-organizations-call-on-congress-to-include-critical-transmission-funding-in-fy-2024-budget/