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Signature Sponsor
November 10, 2021 - The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is a long-overdue investment in our nation’s infrastructure, workers, families, and competitiveness. A key piece in President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, the infrastructure deal includes more than $62 billion for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to deliver a more equitable clean energy future for the American people by doing the following:
Investing in American Manufacturing and Workers Revitalizing domestic supply chains and America’s manufacturing leadership For too long we have ceded ground on manufacturing to our global competitors. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal’s investments in clean energy technology supply chains will allow America to make the energy technologies of the future right here at home, boosting our competitiveness within a global clean energy market expected to reach $23 trillion by the end of the decade. These investments will create jobs up and down the supply chain—especially manufacturing jobs and skills-matched opportunities for fossil fuel workers.
Investing in America’s workforce Investing in America’s workers means investing in America’s future. When combined with the Build Back Better Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will add an average of 1.5 million jobs per year, over the course of the decade, while accelerating America’s path to full employment and increasing labor force participation. These jobs will be spread across every pocket of the country, and the vast majority will not require a college degree.
Expanding Access to Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy for Families, Communities and Businesses Clean energy is already cheaper than fossil fuels in most parts of the country, and it keeps getting cheaper. Increasing access to clean energy will save families money—and for lower-income households, who already spend up to 30% of their income on energy costs, those savings are essential. At the same time, more clean energy means less carbon and air pollution, which disproportionately harms lower-income communities, and especially communities of color. Greater clean energy capacity will offer these communities cleaner air, better health outcomes, and lower healthcare bills. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will turbo-charge clean energy deployment by funding several highly effective state and local programs that will spur projects that increase access to energy efficiency to save money for American families, businesses and communities, help achieve our clean energy goals and accelerate job growth. The infrastructure deal also expands existing DOE grant and loan programs to help states weatherize homes, increase energy efficiency, and expand clean generation.
Delivering Reliable, Clean, and Affordable Power to More Americans Bringing the electrical grid into the 21st century Extreme weather events like the Dixie Wildfire, Hurricane Ida, and the 2021 Texas Freeze have made it clear that our existing energy infrastructure cannot endure the impacts of climate change. Modernizing and expanding the electricity grid will make our energy sector more resilient, while enabling the buildout of affordable, reliable, clean energy to support President Biden’s goal of 100% clean power by 2035.
Maintaining our existing clean generation fleet Our nation already gets 27% of its power from decades-old nuclear and hydropower facilities. These are critical sources of clean power—but as they get older and more expensive to maintain, we risk losing these major sources of pollution-free energy and good-paying jobs. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal provides funding to ensure that we can keep these clean energy sources online.
Building the Technologies of Tomorrow through Clean Energy Demonstrations While the technologies needed to decarbonize most of our economy are both available and affordable thanks in part to decades of technology development led by DOE, further innovation is a critical component of meeting the President’s goals of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035 and a net-zero-carbon economy by 2050. With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, America’s scientists and researchers will have the resources they need to demonstrate these clean energy breakthroughs and prove them out at scale. The infrastructure deal will:
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