Administration announces $550 million in clean energy funding Department of Energy | 11/22/2022 |
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Program Makes Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Available to Over 2,700 Communities, including States, Local Governments, and Tribes Nationwide for Clean Energy Efforts The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today released a Notice of Intent announcing $550 million to support community-based clean energy in state, Tribal, and local governments — serving more than 250 million Americans. This investment in American communities, through the
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, will support communities across the country to develop local programming and deploy clean energy technologies to cut emissions, reduce consumers’ energy costs, and help meet President Biden’s goal of a net-zero economy by 2050.
“This funding is a streamlined and flexible tool for local governments to build their clean energy future,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “State, local, and Tribal communities nationwide will be able to leverage this funding to drive greater energy efficiency and conservation practices to lower utility bills and create healthier environments for American families.”
The EECBG Program will fund 50 states, five U.S. territories, the District of Columbia, 774 Tribes, and 1,878 local governments in a variety of capacity-building, planning, and infrastructure efforts to reduce carbon emissions and energy use and improve energy efficiency
in the transportation, building, and other related sectors. For example, communities with this funding can build out electric vehicle infrastructure and deploy community solar to serve areas that otherwise do not have access to electric vehicles or clean energy.
The $550 million made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) represents the second time that the EECBG Program has been funded, the first of which was through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. With this most recent funding, communities can build on prior investments and leverage additional clean energy funding from DOE, other federal agencies, and the private sector to achieve sustained impacts that
can put their communities on a pathway to decarbonization.
Through the EECBG Program and the Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP), DOE will support the many diverse state, local, and tribal communities across the U.S.
as they implement this funding and other clean energy projects. To ensure no communities are left behind, the program aligns with President’s Justice40 initiative to help ensure that 40% of the
overall benefits of clean energy investments go to underserved and overburdened communities.
Applications for the EECBG Program will open in January 2023. To learn more about the program, including the list of eligible state, local
and tribal governments and their formula funding allocations, visit DOE’s webpage.
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Biden grants PG&E $1.1 billion to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open CNBC | 11/21/22 The Biden administration on Monday said it’s providing Pacific Gas & Electric Co. with a $1.1 billion grant to help the company prevent the closure of
Diablo Canyon, California’s last nuclear power plant.
Diablo Canyon was originally scheduled to be decommissioned in two phases in 2024 and 2025, but state lawmakers in September voted to keep it open for five more years.
The Biden administration has argued that nuclear power is vital to fighting climate change and to helping it achieve its commitment of 100% clean electricity by 2035.
The Biden administration on Monday said it’s providing Pacific Gas & Electric Co. with a $1.1 billion grant to help the company prevent the closure of
Diablo Canyon, California’s last nuclear power plant. Diablo Canyon was originally scheduled
to be decommissioned in two phases in 2024 and 2025, but state lawmakers in September voted to keep it open for five more years. PG&E applied for funding in the Department of Energy’s initial phase of the $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit program aimed to keep U.S. nuclear power reactors open. The conditional funding, which comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law passed by Congress last year, creates a path forward for Diablo Canyon to remain open and could allow PG&E to pay back some of the $1.4 billion loan for the plant that lawmakers approved. Diablo Canyon is California’s single largest source of power, providing 8.6% of the state’s total
electricity and 17% of its zero-carbon electricity. It has helped the state grapple with power shortages as temperatures in California continue to rise and heat waves grow more intense with climate change. “This is a critical step toward ensuring that our domestic nuclear fleet will continue providing reliable and affordable power to Americans as the nation’s largest source of clean electricity,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. However, critics of Diablo Canyon have pointed out that the plant, which is located next to the Pacific Ocean in San Luis Obispo County, is vulnerable to earthquakes and that there is no permanent waste disposal
solution. Final terms of the grant are subject to negotiation and finalization, the Energy
Department said, but the funding is designed to cover PG&E’s anticipated losses from keeping Diablo Canyon open. Not every plant that applied to the Energy Department’s program is receiving funding in this initial phase. The Biden administration has argued that nuclear power is vital to fighting climate change and to helping it achieve its commitment of 100% clean electricity by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. “Nuclear energy will help us meet President Biden’s climate goals, and with these historic investments in clean energy, we can protect these facilities and the communities they serve,” Granholm said. Continue reading>> |
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Interactive guide for communities and governments to help navigate nuclear waste cleanup The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) recently released the Guide to Successful Environmental Cleanup, an interactive online resource that provides frequently asked questions, case studies, and recommendations regarding nuclear waste cleanup. To assist local government officials, their communities, and federal agencies in deciphering the
complexities of the environmental cleanup process, ECA developed this guide to facilitate future successful cleanups. |
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Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
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Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories,
highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments. |
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