40+ Organizations Call on Congress to Include Critical Transmission Funding in FY 2024 Budget

A letter signed by a multi-sector coalition of over 40 clean energy organizations, environmental groups, developers, manufacturers, labor and consumer groups, and other nonprofits was sent to Congress today urging robust funding for high-capacity transmission deployment and research through the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fiscal Year 2024 budget.

In the letter, the organizations highlight the abundance of new research, including DOE’s draft Transmission Needs Study, emphasizing the “pressing need for additional electric transmission infrastructure” in nearly all regions of the country. They state that increased funding for the Grid Deployment Office (GDO), Office of Electricity (OE), and Energy Information Administration (EIA) “is critical to drive substantial clean energy deployment, unleash billions in private investment, create thousands of new jobs, deliver low-cost energy to benefit customers, and substantially reduce emissions.”

“The expansion and modernization of our national power grid is central to meeting our urgent climate and energy security goals,“ the organizations wrote.

In the letter, the organizations encourage Congress to consider the following:

• Funding for the GDO to support innovative efforts to address planning and permitting challenges to enable a resilient and reliable electricity system;
• Support for GDO to designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors on a route-specific, applicant-driven basis;
• Funding for the OE to help ensure our electric grid is resilient to increasingly severe weather, cyber, and physical attacks;
• Robust investment in the Transmission Reliability and Resilience and Applied Grid Transformation Solutions programs;
• Additional funding for the EIA to upgrade its emissions data dashboard.

The letter was signed by Advanced Energy United, Alliance For Clean Energy New York, American Clean Power Association, American Council on Renewable Energy, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, BayWa r.e., Berkshire Hathaway Energy, BlueGreen Alliance, Business Council for Sustainable Energy, Clean Energy Buyers Association, Clean Grid Alliance, Conservative Energy Network, CTC Global, Cubico Sustainable Investments, Cypress Creek Renewables, Enel North America, Great Plains Institute, Grid United, Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Innergex Renewable Energy, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Unit 1245, Invenergy, Longroad Energy, National Electrical Manufacturers Association, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, NextEra Energy Transmission, Niskanen Center, Onward Energy, Pattern Energy, Pine Gate Renewables, Renewable Northwest, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Sol Systems, Solar Energy Industries Association, SOLV Energy, Southern Renewable Energy Association, SuperNode, Third Way, TPI Composites, VEIR, and Vestas-American Wind Technology, Inc.

Click here to download a copy of the coalition letter.