Every positive action towards realizing our clean energy future is a momentous step for us, our family, our environment, our country, and our planet. Last week alone, US Wind welcomed the Hogan Administration’s decision to allow the Clean Energy Jobs Act (Senate Bill 516) to take effect while also pursuing the goal of achieving 100% of clean energy electricity by 2040.

This comes in the heels of numerous state-level actions in favor of strengthening and/or developing clean energy projects, especially wind and solar. Most recently, the House Appropriations Committee has advanced a bill that will provide the Department of Energy with “historic levels of investment in clean energy innovation programs that have been instrumental in accelerating deployment of technologies that will help us meet the climate crisis head-on,” according to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

The bill will further supplement last year’s passage of a strong, full-year funding for energy and water priorities by a bipartisan Congress, recognizing that “clean energy research and development (R&D) is a top-notch investment and the federal government needs to lead.” Addressing and finding solutions for the urgent impact of climate change is a fundamental part of the strategy in making clean energy opportunities grow and become more accessible and sustainable.

The NRDC outlines the highlights of the appropriations bill, including:

• A $273 million (12 percent) increase to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), with particularly robust investment in solar energy programs and advanced manufacturing innovation;
• A $36 million increase to the Weatherization Assistance Program, which has reduced energy costs for more than 7 million low-income households across all 50 states, is one of DOE’s few programs focused on deploying clean energy solutions not just developing the technologies, and is one of DOE’s central equity-focused programs;
• A requirement for DOE to develop roadmaps to cut carbon pollution from major industrial processes that are especially difficult to decarbonize;
• Direction for DOE to continue efforts to improve manufacturing of clean energy technologies, including battery energy storage;
• An $11 million increase to the Office of Electricity, including direction for DOE to develop a crosscutting energy storage initiative that would help accelerate improvements to storage technologies;
• A $59 million increase to the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), which provides funding for potentially transformative clean energy technologies;
• $10 million within the Office of Fossil Energy to kickstart development of direct air capture technologies, which pull carbon pollution directly from the atmosphere; and
• Sustained funding across DOE’s applied energy programs to continue advancing the full set of technology solutions to curb climate emissions and address the climate crisis.