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SEEC Power Sector Task Force secures clean energy wins in Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations package

July 22, 2022

Washington D.C. – The co-chairs of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC)'s Power Sector Task Force, Reps. Sean Casten and Raja Krishnamoorthi, released the following statement after the House passed this week H.R. 8294, a package of appropriations bills for fiscal year 2023 that included a wide array of provisions championed by the Task Force to aid our country's transition to a clean energy economy.

"Not only will this funding result in the further deployment of clean energy technologies, but it will create the first ever transmission focused office at the Department of Energy ensuring clean energy will reach consumers quickly and cheaply," said Co-Chair of the SEEC Power Task Force Congressman Sean Casten. "Building out new transmissions will be key to combatting the climate crisis and delivering cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable energy to families across the country. I'm incredibly proud of the work done by the SEEC Power Sector Task Force to secure this funding that will serve as a base we can build upon for years to come."

"I am encouraged that H.R. 8294, a package of appropriations bills for fiscal year 2023 that passed the U.S. House this week, included many critical reforms championed by our SEEC Power Task Force and its members," said Co-Chair of the SEEC Power Task Force Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi. "In order to transition to a clean energy economy that creates jobs and combats man-made climate change, we must improve the resilience of our nation's electric grid and enhance energy storage and industrial decarbonization technologies, among other priorities. Getting these provisions through the U.S. House is a critical step in the right direction, but we must continue to fight so that they pass the U.S. Senate and are signed into law."

Background

In April, the Task Force sent a letter to Chair Marcy Kaptur and Ranking Member Mike Simpson of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies requesting that the Committee enact President Biden's vision to establish a Grid Deployment Office within the Department of Energy (DOE). That letter can be found here.

H.R. 8294 included the full $90 million the Task Force requested for the Grid Deployment Office to develop, strengthen, and improve the resilience, efficiency, and overall capacity of our nation's electric grid. In addition to supporting the various grid provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), this office will serve as the catalyst for the development of new and upgraded high-capacity electric transmission lines nationwide.

SEEC Task Force Members also worked to secure the following transmission priorities related to resilience and reliability that were included in the bill:

  • Support for the Transmission Reliability and Resilience program, Resilient Distributed Systems program, and Applied Grid Transformation Solutions program.
  • Funding for energy storage technology and microgrid assistance to assist electric cooperatives and municipal power utilities in deployment.
  • Report language involving Transformer Resilience and Advanced Components, including a high voltage direct current convertor moonshot initiative and a study on enacting an energy conservation standard for overhead electricity conductors.

Other priorities in the bill championed by Task Force members to decrease the carbon intensity of our power sector included:

  • Funding at a record $815 million for demonstration and deployment of industrial decarbonization technologies which involve the hardest to decarbonize sectors including cement and steel.
  • Doubling of investment in the guarantee authority of the DOE Loan Program Office's Title XVII program, which will facilitate the deployment of innovative clean energy projects.
  • Language to require DOE to put together an implementation plan for preparing the grid for an influx of electric vehicle charging stations.