that would provide $100 billion for research and development activities over five years at the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. The bill, S. 1260, heads to the House of Representatives for approval. Justice40 Initiative: On June 8, The Department of Energy nominee to lead the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, Shalanda Baher, said that traditional fossil fuel communities would be among those that will qualify for investment under an executive order meant to bolster disadvantaged communities. The Justice40 Initiative, signed by President Biden in January, directs that 40% of investments made by the federal government that plan to tackle the climate crisis will go to disadvantaged communities. This order will include funding for transitioning energy communities. Rural Energy Pilot Program: The USDA accepted comments on how a $10 million Rural Energy Pilot Program might be used, with an emphasis on soliciting feedback on how technologies could impact or be deployed to address and propel work on racial equity, environmental justice, and economic opportunity. EPA Leadership: President Biden has appointed Carlton Waterhouse, an environmental law and justice expert, as assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management. This office oversees recycling and waste issues, as well as the superfund program, which focuses on the country’s most contaminated sites. Energy-Efficient Lightbulbs: On May 20, Department of Energy (DOE) moved to reverse the Trump administration’s decision to block the phaseout of incandescent lightbulbs. Trump previously claimed that energy-efficient lightbulbs would cost more, despite conflicting information on the DOE website. According to Noah Horowitz, director of the Center for Energy Efficiency Standards at the Natural Resources Defense Council, customers could save $2.5 billion annually with more efficient bulbs, and 50 million tons of carbon pollution could be prevented by 2030, as LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights use onesixth the energy of incandescent bulbs to deliver
the same amount of energy and last more than 10 times longer. Expanding Power Markets: In June, nine bipartisan former federal commissioners and chairs called for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to expand organized power markets across the U.S. They cited considerable customer benefits and greater levels of renewable energy as reasons for restructured competitive markets to expand nationwide. Electric Grid Security: In June, Tom Fanning, Southern Company CEO and co-chair of Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, said that utilities must work with each other and the federal government to discourage cyber-attacks on the electric grid following the May shutdown of Colonial Pipeline due to hackers. New Energy Efficiency Metric: In May, California’s Public Utilities Commission passed new rules to look at energy efficiency benefits beyond economic savings, adopting a “total system benefit” (TSB) metric to promote energy conservation at high-value locations and times. According to the proposal, TSB will optimize and combine energy and peak demand savings goals and will encourage longer-duration energy-saving and high-value load reduction. Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal: On June 24, President Biden announced his support for a bipartisan infrastructure framework that will spend $73 billion in power infrastructure. Of that investment, $579 billion will also be spent on a variety of infrastructure priorities, including new transmission lines to accommodate renewable energy and a new Grid Authority to oversee power infrastructure upgrades. Energy Efficient Transportation State, Local, and Utility Policy Updates Alabama EV Charging Stations: In June, Governor Kay Ivey approved a $4.1 million grant to build 18 electric vehicle charging stations through seven counties
Quaterly Highlights |
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