Last month, the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) held its annual Energy Policy Summit in Washington, DC. Bringing together leaders across the energy industry, AABE members and other attendees took on the challenge of discussing an ‘Expedient & Equitable Implementation’ of the most recent federal policies aimed at the national energy transition.
Topics: Federal Policy, Event, Advanced Energy United
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) contained a variety of incentives, grants programs, and policies to help catalyze not only the growth of clean generation, but also energy efficiency and building electrification. Among the notable measures in the landmark law were a pair of residential rebate programs - the Home Efficiency Rebates and the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates Programs – for which the IRA provided $8.6 billion.
Now, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is prepared to begin allocating these funds out to all 50 states and tribes across the country, to help them provide upfront rebates on efficiency projects, new heat-pump HVAC systems, smart electric panels, and more. While Congress and DOE have attached some requirements to these funds, state energy offices (SEOs) are responsible for designing specific rebate programs. They will decide which households receive rebates, which technologies they finance, and how the rebate programs serve larger public policy goals.
To help states navigate the application process for these funds, and design effective programs, Advanced Energy United and Rewiring America teamed up to produce a new guide: “Making the Most of the Federal Home Energy Rebates.” Informed by the experience and expertise of companies, advocates, and industry experts working in the efficiency, electrification, and distributed energy resource (DER) space this guide is crafted to help states serve low- and moderate-income consumers while also spurring a larger market for residential efficiency, electrification, and DERs broadly.
Topics: Federal Policy, Energy Efficiency, Manufacturing and Infrastructure
Yesterday, we had the privilege of sponsoring The Hill’s event Clean Energy Permitting Reform: The Path Ahead, which convened members of Congress, policy leaders, and United member company representatives at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. to discuss permitting reform for clean energy manufacturing, transmission, and the production and recycling of critical minerals.
Topics: Federal Policy, Event, Manufacturing and Infrastructure
This past weekend, President Biden signed a bill to raise the national debt ceiling that also included modest improvements in the permitting process for building clean energy projects. As part of the negotiation process, Congressional leaders considered policy changes to speed up the buildout of large-scale electric grid transmission, such as expanding transmission capacity between regions. Ultimately, and unfortunately, those reforms were not included in the bill.
Topics: State Policy, Federal Policy, Arizona, Transmission, California, Maryland, Colorado
Incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) are working as intended: they are spurring increased deployment of new wind, solar, and electric vehicle (EV) charging projects, and advanced energy manufacturing projects are proliferating across the country. But there remain regulations that are stalling further investment. In particular, cumbersome permitting processes for energy projects have created significant roadblocks to our 100% clean energy goals and imperil the energy transition. In response, permitting reform is a key priority for the 118th Congress.