On the Roosevelt Institute assembly on Constructing the Inexperienced Transition, Senator Markey outlines the imaginative and prescient for the trail ahead to enabling and unleashing clear power that prioritizes fast improvement and group engagement, with out sacrificing the environmental justice ideas which have facilitated the passage of the Inflation Discount Act
Full textual content: Senator Markey’s progressive priorities for clear power improvement
Washington (March 21, 2022) Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Senate sponsor of the Inexperienced New Goddess and creator of quite a few local weather and environmental justice provisions within theInflation Discount Act, unveiled its progressive clear power deployment and allowing priorities in the present day at a Roosevelt Institute symposium on Constructing the Inexperienced Transition. In his remarks, Senator Markey outlined a proactive and affirmative imaginative and prescient for a path ahead on clear power distribution and transmission and allowing that builds on the profitable effort to surpass historic ranges of funding for environmental justice and theNationwide Environmental Coverage Act (NEPA)implementation by means of theInflation Discount Act. Senator Markeys’ progressive priorities for clear power supply present a transparent and actionable plan to get clear megawatts on the grid and scale back prices for customers by shifting away from costly and unstable fossil fuels. Senator Markeys’ plan presents a transparent various to the allow proposals, together with the Home Republican-backed HR1, which might renege on commitments made to frontline environmental justice communities and reverse the pledge of theInflation Discount Actrevoking environmental protections for oil and gasoline tasks, incentivizing soiled power manufacturing on federal lands, and repealing key packages handed by means of theInflation Discount Actsuch because the Greenhouse Fuel Discount Fund.
We should unite in solidarity, guaranteeing that any proposal achieves justice and doesn’t perpetuate additional hurt to the Black, Brown, Indigenous and frontline communities who’ve suffered and sacrificed essentially the most for generations. We’d like to ensure households around the globe can get clear, reasonably priced power that protects their well being and the well being of the local weather,Senator Markey stated.For this reason I am saying my progressive priorities for clear power deployment and group engagement, outlining the important thing steps lawmakers should take to energy communities with clear power, and empowering them to be a part of the planning.
Senator Markeys’ progressive priorities for clear power deployment embody 4 key steps:
Step 1: Exceed historic ranges of environmental justice funding eNEPAimplementation by means of theInflation Discount Act.
- In August 2022, Congress took the vital step of passing theInflation Discount Actthe biggest funding in historical past for local weather and clear power.NEPAimplementation, which can enable companies to comprehensively and successfully assessment proposed infrastructure tasks.
Step 2: Assist the clear and environment friendly deployment of unpolluted power by bringing environmental justice communities to the desk on the forefront of the method earlier and establishing necessities for fairness and justice.
- The allowing course of can and may prioritize each the fast deployment of unpolluted power and the engagement of frontline environmental justice communities. These efforts would enable affected communities to be included in venture planning, doubtlessly facilitating venture implementation by growing broad group assist that may reduce the chance of protracted litigation. These efforts ought to embody:
- Speedy distribution of funding fromInflation Discount Actfor nationwideNEPAimplementation, in addition to extra funding for state and tribal workplaces for allowing and historic preservation;
- Assist for pre-project improvement packages, such because theRegulation on Native Infrastructure Financing and Technical Help (LIFT).that it will present grants to communities to cowl market assessments, group engagement, website acquisition and allowing prices for tasks starting from rooftop photo voltaic to electrification;
- Authorized frameworks and necessities associated to environmental justice and fairness, such because theEnvironmental Justice Act for Allwhich might set up environmental justice necessities, advisory our bodies, and packages to deal with the disproportionate opposed well being or environmental results of federal legal guidelines or packages on communities of colour, low-income communities, or tribal and indigenous communities. Congress may help communities navigate the crimson tape and allow transformative tasks with out putting arbitrary limits on stakeholder engagement.
- An intervener funding program by means of the Federal Power Regulatory Commissions (FERC) Workplace of Public Participation to assist members of the general public defray bills they incur in reference to their engagement in Fee proceedings. This program may make sure that underrepresented communities are empowered to completely interact in FERC selections.
- Creating instruments to hurry venture adoption and stop communities from being locked out of the method, resembling making a centralized database to trace venture timelines and approval processes, prioritizing venture authorization of unpolluted power and transit which can be supported by environmental justice communities and offload power and assist an analog of the Federal Allow Enchancment Steering Committee (FPISC) that may deal with serving to under-resourced communities drive tasks by means of the authorization course of.
Step 3: Repair Damaged Allowing, Interconnection, and Location Processes for Clear Power Transmission and Distributed Power Useful resource Tasks
- Senator MarkeysConnecting hard-to-reach areas with the Renewable Power Generated Power Act (CHARGE).would proactively plan and construct a dependable and resilient power grid throughout giant areas of the nation, which might bridge the hole between renewable power provide and cities and cities that want entry to wash megawatts. The laws would additionally implement a sequence of reforms by means of FERC to speed up a clear power transition by requiring sturdy transmission planning reforms, establishing minimal ranges of switch capability between areas, supporting competitors and requiring efficient management of transmission grids able to offering clear electrical energy all through the nation.
- FERC and the Division of Power just lately enhanced present authorities for location and transmission authorization that may very well be applied successfully, and FERC additionally has ongoing laws that may deal with the interconnect backlog, price allocation for transmission and regional planning. FERC can proceed to do extra to assist grid-enhancing applied sciences that enhance transmission with out requiring the development of extra infrastructure.
- Congress ought to amend theFederal Power ActPart 216 to designate FERC because the siting authority for transmission services with rated capacities of 1,000 MW or larger, as requested by Senator Sheldon Whitehouses (DR.I.)Simplification of the Interstate Transmission of Electrical energy Act (SITE).and directFERC to allocate the prices of transmission tasks.
- Lastly, addressing the interstate and intrastate interconnection backlog will assist new clear, distributed power sources which can be prepared for deployment, however have been delayed by low utility and wholesale market planning. On the finish of 2021, greater than 1,400,000 megawatts of whole era and storage capability had been queued to hook up with the grid, greater than 90% of which was made up of zero-carbon sources resembling photo voltaic, wind and battery storage .
Step 4: Prioritize environmental justice tasks of strategic nationwide significance
- Additional legislative and govt motion may assist the fast adoption and completion of tasks which can be each of strategic nationwide significance and likewise a precedence for environmental justice communities. For instance, the laws may designate 25 carbon-neutral energy era tasks as tasks of strategic nationwide significance, of which no less than 50 % could be clear power tasks that assist environmental justice communities and don’t embody oil, gasoline, fossil hydrogen and carbon seize and storage tasks. Hyperlinks to environmental justice in federal companies, together with FERC, and funding for intervenors may additionally make sure that communities are concerned on the forefront of the method, avoiding disruptions down the road.
Final Congress, Senator Markey led the No Local weather No Deal motion and performed a key function in passing theInflation Discount Act, the biggest funding in clear power and environmental justice ever handed by the US Congress. The laws included various provisions from Senator Markeys, such because the Greenhouse Fuel Discount Fund, funding for mapping and environmental justice engagement, and a producing tax credit score for U.S.-made offshore wind applied sciences
On this Congress, Senator Markey intends to proceed to push for much-needed community modernization and reform, as outlined in hisUPLOAD Act, which might proactively plan and construct a dependable and resilient power grid infrastructure throughout the nation. On the identical time, Senator Markey will work to deal with frequent hurdles communities face in constructing resilient local weather infrastructure by means of legal guidelines just like theELEVATOR regulationwhich would supply grants to cowl market assessments, group engagement, website acquisition and allowing prices that usually hinder the completion of such tasks.
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