A coalition of more than 40 organizations, including clean energy firms, environmental groups, developers, manufacturers, labor and consumer groups and nonprofits, has sent a letter to Congress urging substantial funding for high-capacity transmission deployment and research in the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fiscal Year 2024 budget.
The organizations include American Clean Power Association, National Wildlife Federation, Pine Gate Renewables, Solar Energy Industries Association and Vestas-American Wind Technology, among others.
The letter calls for increased funding for the Grid Deployment Office, Office of Electricity and Energy Information Administration, stating that it is crucial to drive significant clean energy deployment, create jobs, attract private investment, reduce emissions and deliver low-cost energy.
The coalition emphasized the need for additional electric transmission infrastructure and highlights new research, such as DOE’s draft Transmission Needs Study, which indicates that almost all regions of the country require it.
The letter noted that expanding and modernizing the national power grid is central to meeting urgent climate and energy security goals. The coalition also encouraged Congress to support innovative efforts to address planning and permitting challenges to build a resilient and reliable electricity system; designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors on a route-specific, applicant-driven basis; and ensure that the electric grid is resilient to increasingly severe weather, cyber and physical attacks.
The coalition also called for robust investment in the Transmission Reliability and Resilience and Applied Grid Transformation Solutions programs and additional funding for the EIA to upgrade its emissions data dashboard.
