What Does the Spending Package Mean for Energy?
The omnibus spending package released Tuesday could mean a large increase in funding for several Energy Department programs, according to E&E News’ EnergyWire (subscription).
What’s going on: The package “would provide $46.5 billion to DOE. … That’s an increase of roughly $1.7 billion from fiscal 2022 for the department.”
- The money would support such departmental efforts as scaling up carbon capture and removal technologies, advancing technologies that boost grid resilience and reducing emissions by heavy industry.
- The omnibus also provides $5 million for the Environmental Protection Agency to continue its work on Class VI wells, used to inject carbon dioxide into the ground for geologic storage.
Who gets what: Under the plan, the Energy Department’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management would get $890 million, its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would get $3.5 billion, its Office of Electricity would get $350 million and its new Grid Deployment Office would get about $59.5 million.
- The omnibus package also gives $508.4 million to the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and $89 million to the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.
- All amounts represent significant bumps from last year.
The backdrop: The funding for FERC arrives as that agency is considering rules that could speed up the process for connecting new energy projects to the grid, as well as promote long-distance transmission line development.
A roadmap: The spending package “directs DOE to implement a roadmap announced in September with recommended emissions reductions in the industrial sector through strategies such as efficiency improvements, adopting low-carbon fuels and applying carbon capture and storage technology.”
The NAM’s take: “These investments are important, and we need to focus on bringing new technologies to scale and to market so that they can be integrated into the grid and reduce emissions,” said NAM Director of Energy and Resources Policy Chris Morris.
- “Accompanying the federal funding should be modernizing permitting, certification and licensing processes so that federal dollars can go to projects that are not bogged down by current long permitting delays. We look forward to working with lawmakers to ensure that permitting reform benefits all manufacturers.”