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1800225-39052500FEDERAL LEGISLATION WORKING GROUP MEETING2/17/21Agenda Nominee updatesLegislation updatesTexas power crisisNext stepsNotesNominee updatesDOE Secretary: Jennifer Granholm During her January 27 confirmation hearing, Governor Granholm sought to assure skeptical Republicans she's "obsessed with creating good-paying jobs.”She was asked what she will be doing for coal communities and other fossil fuel workers who are being displaced.Very little was asked regarding the Biden administration’s priorities for clean energy… some discussion about prioritizing EVs (she noted that she loves her Chevy Volt).California’s renewable energy priorities were misrepresented by Wyoming Senator Barrasso, who falsely claimed that California’s energy woes from last summer were caused by the state’s reliance on renewable energy. She quickly corrected that misleading statement stating that the blackouts “were less about the security of the grid and more about what was happening because of the warming of the planet and the cause of the additional fire danger."Confirmation is expected.DOE Undersecretary appointments:Kathleen Hogan (former Obama DOE appointment) was appointed as #2 in DOE as COO and requires Senate confirmation. Kelly Speakes-Backman heads up the EERE program (she formerly ran the Energy Storage Association); deputy position does not require Senate confirmation.EPA Administrator: Michael ReganOn February 9, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee reported out the nomination of Michael Regan on a 14-6 vote.Regarding clean energy, Regan committed that EPA would look at regulating carbon dioxide emissions from a “clean slate” perspective.Confirmation is expected.Regan has discussed building a map of communities hardest hit by climate change overlayed with racial inequities which potentially will an excellent resource as to how to target EE programs.Steve notes that a mapping has already been done on the energy burden (Cal Enviro screen is an example)… will find the link.Legislative UpdateLIHEAP: On February 4, a group of trade associations asked Congress to add $10B for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program to pandemic relief legislation. In last year’s pandemic legislation, an additional $900M was approved for LIHEAP funding, which is woefully short.On February 6, legislation was introduced to extend the 30% renewable energy ITC through 2026.The GREEN ACT was reintroduced (Thompson D-CA); includes ITC (noted above) plus some home energy credits; business credits (179D) … might be a vehicle for taxation… and would need to be a new authorization (aka subject to Senate filibuster rules).The Open Back Better bill (20 pages) reduced to a sentence for reconciliation purposes. (see Building Back better website).Through EESG or other advocacy groups, it would be imperative to reduce the EE laundry list (need to get down from 37+ priorities).Biden’s proposal for 4M commercial buildings and 2M residential to EE treatment does not have specificity as to which buildings would be a priority (see NAESCO’s preliminary analysis of commercial stock).Where would the money come from? The costs are staggering (~$400B).There are some considerations to disadvantaged communities and communities that are in need of environmental justice measures. No distinction between rural vs. urban.Dynamic of rural coops vs. IOUs.NAESCO preliminary analysis of commercial stock, pasted below (thanks Don!). Here are a few comments from Don:Please note that this is not a prescription, but rather a quick estimate at the amount of money required to do the job, and the potential sources of that money. We think that the large public buildings, the ESCO target market, can be serviced with existing performance contracting financing, particularly if the Open Back Better bill is enacted.How the other types of buildings – large privately-owned buildings and smaller buildings (<50k SF) get financed is not clear. The available sources of financing – cash, utility incentives and financing, C-PACE – seem to be an order of magnitude off what is required.It would be great to get feedback and questions from you and CEDMC members.\sSteve’s work with LBNL they have been looking at rural vs. urban in terms of EE/clean energy opportunities and that making such a distinction might lead to significant impacts.Steve kindly shared this link to DOE’s Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool which is designed to help states, communities and other stakeholders create better energy strategies and programs by improving their understanding of low income housing and energy characteristics.Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV) spoke during the Cleantech Party webcast on 2/16. Overall, people were positive about the Senator’s commitment to clean energy in general. Join Cleantech’s clean energy policy webinar series (every other Tuesday at 4pm Pacific for the next several months).Texas power crisisFalse political finger-pointing at renewable energy; key issue is deregulation and the emphasis on cheap power over reliability.DOE has been working a lot lately on resilience and reliability so what’s happening here can be a great pitch for our industry.Relevant articles: Next stepsOur next Federal call will be Wednesday March 3rd at 8:15. Here are the call-in coordinates:Web: Call-in: +1 669 900 9128, Meeting ID: 977 7731 8912Passcode: cedmc ................
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