Daily Archives: April 13, 2021

New Presidential Executive Order on Supply Chains

Lack of US independence in the manufacturing of crucial items, such as personal protective equipment and battery components, has led many to be concerned with how we will respond to the next pandemic or move forward on clean energy. On February 24, President Biden issued an Executive Order focused on shoring up supply chains of critical items. The order will require a 100-day review of the supply chain of many products worked on by government contractors and the private sector. In addition, over the next year federal agencies will be required to develop and begin to implement additional actions to maximize domestic production of crucial items and/or ways to work with allies on a coordinated response to hasten supplies when needed.

For example, the Secretary of Energy, coordinating with other agencies, is required to submit a report identifying risks in the supply chain for items such as, large-scale (industrial and electric vehicle) batteries and policy recommendations to address these risks. Also required is a report on supply chains for the energy sector industrial base.

The US Senate confirmed in a bipartisan vote former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm to serve as the 16th Secretary of Energy. In a Department of Energy blog post shortly after confirmation, Secretary Granholm outlined her priorities including solar, wind, electric cars, advanced batteries, energy efficient appliances, and a weatherized grid structure. Secretary Granholm is known as an electric vehicle enthusiast.

One of her first actions as Secretary is to jumpstart a $100 million funding opportunity for “transformative clean energy solutions” to identify cutting-edge clean energy technologies to address the climate crisis. Energy officials believe total research in clean energy sponsored by the agency will increase to the billions.

CCES has the experts to help your company be more energy efficient and productive. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

The Proposed Infrastructure Plan: Clean Energy

On March 31, 2021, President Biden released his $2 trillion infrastructure plan intended to aid the nation’s economic comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic by raising employment in jobs for necessary projects, such as energy efficiency, renewable energy growth, and grid modernization. This is also part of the government’s strategy to achieve a net-zero emissions power sector by 2035, and a net-zero economy by 2050.

In response to the recent power crisis in Texas, the proposed Infrastructure Plan would invest $100 billion to modernize the electric grid with at least 20 GW of high-voltage capacity power lines. The Plan also proposes creation of a Grid Deployment Authority at the Dept of Energy to manage this effort.

The proposed Infrastructure Plan also promotes the retrofitting of existing residential, commercial, and municipal buildings to be more energy efficient and electrified and a $27 billion Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to mobilize private investment.

The Infrastructure Plan proposes creation of Energy Efficiency and Clean Electricity Standard (EECES) aimed at improving energy efficiency, promoting cleaner energy, and incentivizing efficient use of existing infrastructure and carbon-free energy from nuclear and hydropower. The Infrastructure Plan proposes to invest $174 billion in electric vehicle (EV) development, including building a network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030, replacing 50,000 diesel transit vehicles, and electrifying at least 20% of the school bus fleet. The Plan also includes a 10-year extension of an expanded direct-pay investment tax credit and production tax credit for clean energy generation and storage.

The Infrastructure Plan proposes both a $10 billion investment in public land and water conservation, community resilience, and environmental justice through a new Civilian Climate Corps and a $5 billion investment in remediation and redevelopment of Brownfield and Superfund sites in disadvantaged communities.

The Infrastructure Plan rebuilds research in climate areas that was decimated under the previous administration, setting aside $35 billion for research and development of new, beneficial technologies, such as energy storage, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, EVs, floating offshore wind, and biofuel products.

One of the criticisms of the Plan is what will happen to the industries that will be harmed or ruined by the switch to clean energy, such as coal and oil & gas. The Plan proposes to address this by training fossil-fuel industry workers to apply their skills for clean energy and for employment to plug oil and gas wells and clean abandoned mines.

As one sees in the news, the Infrastructure Plan faces political hurdles, as many feel it is too expensive for a government already high in deficit spending. Democrats believe that the economic benefits and savings to the private sector will lead to economic growth that would raise revenues and eventually would pay it back plus some. It is likely some compromise (cutting back) of some of the ambitious goals (clean energy and others) will occur before it is promulgated.

CCES has the experts to help your firm manage energy (yes, manage this important resource), assess your energy profile, and move toward cheaper, cleaner energy choices and energy efficiency to reduce your energy waste, save you significant costs, and improve productivity. With the likelihood of financial incentives from the federal and many state governments, even the initial investment to reduce your energy and carbon profile can be quite affordable. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.