Sustainability caucus fights for clean energy funding

Washington D.C. – Today SEEC members sent a letter to the lead Senate and House Appropriators advocating for the Senate’s higher funding levels for two vital clean energy programs. Currently, the Senate’s bill maintains FY 2018 funding levels for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and increases funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) over FY18 levels, while the House’s bill cuts funding for both programs. The letter also outlines the importance of doubling investments in these programs in coming years in accordance with our Mission Innovation goals. In November of 2015, the United States, European Union, and 21 other countries joined together in a global initiative called Mission Innovation to “dramatically accelerate global clean energy innovation,” through a commitment to double investment in clean energy research and development.

This letter was led by SEEC Co-Chairs Reps. Gerry Connolly, Paul Tonko, and Doris Matsui along with SEEC Vice-Chairs Reps. Matt Cartwright, Alan Lowenthal, Mike Quigley, Chellie Pingreeand Jared Polis. A full list of the letter’s signers can be found below.

The letter reads in part:

“Investing in these energy research and development programs will help bolster our energy independence, enhance our global competitiveness, and secure new American jobs – all while protecting our environment and public health”

The full text of the letter is below and a signed copy can be found here:

Dear Chairmen Shelby and Frelinghuysen, Vice Chairman Leahy, and Ranking Member Lowey:

We, the below signed members of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, write to express our strong support for the Senate’s fiscal year (FY) 2019 funding levels for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) programs. We were pleased to see that the Senate’s FY 2019 Energy and Water Appropriations bill at least maintains funding for EERE and increases funding for ARPA-E compared to FY 2018 levels. H.R. 5895, the House Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act of 2019, contains misguided cuts to these strategic programs, and we urge you to move forward with the Senate’s FY 2019 levels in any conference agreement.

It is our strong belief that the United States must continue to make substantial investments in the valuable energy research and development activities supported by these programs and should strive to double funding for these and other innovative energy programs over the next five years. In this way, the United States can maintain its status as a global leader in energy innovation while meeting our Mission Innovation goals, help create valuable new jobs for American workers, and further safeguard our planet from the dangers of climate change – many of which are already impacting Americans’ daily lives.

As you know, DOE’s energy research and development programs play an important role in enabling cutting-edge technologies to take root in the American economy. In 2018, these programs helped support nearly 3.2 million Americans who were employed in clean energy jobs.[1] ARPA-E promotes innovation across all forms of energy in the United State, securing investments in the kind of “high-risk, high-reward” technologies often overlooked in the private sector. EERE is dedicated to preserving American leadership in the global transition to a clean energy economy through investments in research and development that promote energy efficiency, affordability, and security. Investments in these programs have helped American businesses innovate in wind, solar, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency technologies. Consider:

• Since 2008 the price of wind has dropped by 75% reaching an all-time low in 2017.[2]
• In 2016, employment in the solar industry represented 1 in 50 new jobs created in the United States.[3]
• More than 1 in 6 out every construction job in the United States is in energy efficiency.[4]
• Since 2009, 136 ARPA-E funded projects have attracted more than $2.6 billion in private sector follow-on funding.[5]
• $12 billion in EERE investments have yielded an estimated net economic benefit of more than $230 billion, with an overall return on investment of more than 20%.[6]

Without continued support for these critical programs, trends like these could reverse or move offshore.

In November of 2015, the United States, European Union, and 21 other countries joined together in the Mission Innovation global initiative to “dramatically accelerate global clean energy innovation,” through a commitment to double investment in clean energy research and development over five years. Sticking to this commitment and establishing U.S. leadership in this competitive sector is critical. Unfortunately, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, China overtook the United States in 2017 as the world leader in clean energy investment. We know that the jobs and economy of tomorrow will be developed by those who control the next generation of energy technologies. The United States needs to be investing in innovation to be competitive globally, or risks falling behind.

Research and development at DOE is also helping to create meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through investments in new renewable and energy efficiency technologies. For example, DOE estimates that widespread adoption of LED lighting, whose development and initial deployment was funded by the department, could lead to energy savings equivalent to 44 large electric power plants or a total savings of $30 billion dollars by 2027.[7] These energy savings translate to millions of tons of CO₂ not emitted into our atmosphere each year. However, LED lights are just one of many innovations that programs like ARPA-E and EERE have made feasible for economy-wide deployment and that may have otherwise gone underutilized.

Cuts to EERE and ARPA-E only take us backward and signal our abdication of global leadership in this arena. Investing in these DOE energy research and development programs will help bolster our energy independence, enhance our global competitiveness, and secure new American jobs – all while protecting our environment and public health. We agree with the sentiments expressed by Senator Lamar Alexander, chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, about the importance of government-funded research: “We have invented the internet, the personal computer, nuclear power, the polio vaccine. It is hard to think of a major technological invention since World War II that didn’t have some support from government-sponsored research.”[8] For these reasons, we thank you for your continued support of EERE and ARPA-E and urge you to maintain the Senate’s level of funding for these valuable programs in FY 2019.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

Sincerely,

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The following members of SEEC signed on to the letter: Representatives Gerry Connolly, Paul Tonko, Doris Matsui, Alan Lowenthal, Mike Quigley, Jared Polis, Chellie Pingree, Matt Cartwright, Salud O. Carbajal, James R. Langevin, Judy Chu, Steven Cohen, Jared Huffman, Barbara Lee, Jerry McNerney, Niki Tsongas, Mark DeSaulnier, Donald S. Beyer Jr., Peter Welch, Pramila Jayapal, Earl Blumenauer, Richard M. Nolan, John Sarbanes, Scott Peters, Ed Perlmutter, Colleen Hanabusa, Bonnie Watson Coleman, James P. McGovern, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Darren Soto, Keith Ellison, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Susan A. Davis, Lloyd Doggett, Dave Loebsack, John K. Delaney, Raúl M. Grijalva, Mark Pocan, Emanuel Cleaver, David E. Price, Carol Shea-Porter, Ted W. Lieu, Ann McLane Kuster, A. Donald McEachin, William R. Keating

_____________________________________________________________________________________