Loading...

Biden Administration Advances Renewable Energy Projects

January 12, 2022 by Dan McCue
(American Public Power Association)

WASHINGTON — Seven federal executive branch agencies have begun rolling out wind, solar and other clean energy projects, the White House announced Wednesday morning.

According to a senior administration official, the effort builds on President Biden’s commitment to “pull every lever” to scale up the use of renewable sources and create good paying, union jobs while lowering energy bills for consumers.

First and foremost, the Interior Department is holding a record-breaking offshore wind lease sale, with the most lease areas ever offered, in the New York Bight off the coasts of New York and New Jersey. The upcoming lease sale is projected to generate up to 7 gigawatts.

The sale includes innovative lease provisions that will lead to offshore wind projects being built with union labor and Made in America materials.

The White House said Wednesday the federal government will build on these new lease stipulations through a new federal-state partnership that will ensure local residents — including underserved communities — benefit from new developments.

A number of agencies are also working with offshore wind developers to become a new clean energy sector.

For example, the Transportation Department recently announced port investments to help develop areas that will be used to build and stage offshore wind turbine components, and efforts are underway across the Departments of Commerce, the Interior and Energy to promote biodiversity and cooperative ocean use and support innovation across the supply chain.

The Departments of Interior, Agriculture, Defense, Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency are forming a new collaboration to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of reviews of clean energy projects on public lands, in order to expand solar, onshore wind and geothermal energy.

The Energy Department is launching a new Building a Better Grid initiative to accelerate the deployment of new transmission lines — as enabled by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — to connect more Americans to cleaner, cheaper energy.

The transmission build-out will make our grid more reliable and resilient in the face of intensifying extreme weather and is critical to achieving the president’s goal of 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035.

To ensure that these benefits reach all Americans, the White House said, the Agriculture Department is creating a new pilot program to support clean energy in underserved rural communities and the Commerce Department is awarding American Rescue Plan funds to support regional coalitions to grow new industry clusters focused on clean energy deployment and job training. 

As all this transpires, a new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows that the administration’s SolarAPP+ tool is reducing permitting times for residential installations to less than one day, helping local governments fast-track rooftop solar.

In addition, the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium is awarding over $3 million to six offshore wind R&D projects. 

The competitive awards will fund three new supply chain projects to facilitate U.S. manufacturing, ensure quality component production and simplify the transportation of major wind plant components.

Dan can be reached at dan@thewellnews.com and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue 

Renewable Energy

March 28, 2023
by TWN
Wisconsin Gov. Highlights Clean Energy Economy Initiatives

MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Tony Evers plans to travel across Wisconsin this week to highlight economic initiatives in his 2023-25... Read More

MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Tony Evers plans to travel across Wisconsin this week to highlight economic initiatives in his 2023-25 biennial budget, a budget that was rejected March 23 by the State Building Commission. The state panel voted 4-4 on party lines on Evers’ capital budget... Read More

March 27, 2023
by Dan McCue
Tyson Tells ARPA-E: Innovation Comes Faster Than Most Think

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Despite all the descriptors you could put in front of his name — astrophysicist, director of... Read More

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Despite all the descriptors you could put in front of his name — astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, graduate of Harvard, with a Ph.D. from Columbia, author and celebrated scientist, TV star — Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson had... Read More

March 24, 2023
by Dan McCue
Innovation Is the Invisible Hand That Moves the Political Debate on Energy

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — It almost seems here in Washington that the debate over energy, over the future of fossil... Read More

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — It almost seems here in Washington that the debate over energy, over the future of fossil fuels versus renewables, never changes. Most everyone these days will advocate for an “all of the above” solution to meet the nation’s future energy needs and... Read More

March 24, 2023
by Dan McCue
Solar + Storage Transforming Former West Virginia Industrial Site

RAVENSWOOD, W. Va. — Like a lot of communities in America’s heartland, Jackson County, West Virginia, was built on natural... Read More

RAVENSWOOD, W. Va. — Like a lot of communities in America’s heartland, Jackson County, West Virginia, was built on natural resources. Timber and energy wrought from the ground helped sustain and grow its population, and the arrival of manufacturing in the mid-1950s — in the guise... Read More

March 20, 2023
by Dan McCue
$2.5B in EV, Alt Fuel Infrastructure Funding 

WASHINGTON — The White House and Dept. of Transportation have opened applications for the first round of an eventual $2.5... Read More

WASHINGTON — The White House and Dept. of Transportation have opened applications for the first round of an eventual $2.5 billion in funding to ensure the creation of new electric vehicle and alternative fueling infrastructure throughout the United States. Eligible applicants include state, city, town and... Read More

March 20, 2023
by TWN Staff
Cargill Opts Into Wind Energy Agreement in Illinois

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Global food and agriculture giant Cargill has signed a 50 MW power purchase agreement with Apex Clean... Read More

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Global food and agriculture giant Cargill has signed a 50 MW power purchase agreement with Apex Clean Energy to power operations in Illinois. The power will come from the 300 MW Goose Creek Wind project, which Apex is currently developing in Piatt County,... Read More

News From The Well
Exit mobile version