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November 27, 2019
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently unveiled their report, Transforming the U.S. Department of Energy in Response to the Climate Crisis: Legislative Authorization Principles for Clean Energy Innovation, which outlines recommendations for Congress to better integrate the urgency of the climate crisis in the department’s authorizing legislation. Congress has not updated the mandate guiding the Department of Energy (DOE) since 2005.
Last week, NRDC held a briefing to release and discuss the report. At the briefing, Kathleen Hogan, former DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, emphasized the value of congressional clarity on authorization language. According to the report, “updated authorizing legislation could align the long-term direction of the applied energy programs with the world’s most pressing climate and energy challenges by updating technology priorities and authorizing more funding for DOE programs.”
The report recommends DOE’s goals explicitly state that the department should “research, develop, demonstrate, and commercialize technologies that decrease the environmental impacts of energy-related activities, including by deeply reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improve energy-sector resilience to climate change.” Updating DOE’s authorization legislation to include greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions as a goal is crucial, as that would facilitate creating and improving technologies that decrease GHG emissions.
Another recommendation in the report is that Congress should at least double investments in clean energy research and development (R&D) to facilitate a more rapid transition to clean energy. Funding clean energy R&D has a significant return on investment for taxpayers. According to the report, an investment of $12 billion in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy yielded more than $388 billion in benefits.
The report also recommends that Congress “authorize comprehensive workforce development programs for all applied energy programs, allowing DOE technology programs to develop tailored workforce and education programs that respond to the current and future needs in their technology areas.” Jobs in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors continue to grow (the two fastest-growing occupational categories in the United States are expected to be solar installers and wind service technicians over the next decade), yet a skill gap exists. Expanding workforce development would close the skills gap, and help contribute to more successful energy policies.
Improving the energy efficiency of federal, residential, and commercial buildings is also emphasized in the report. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) explained during the briefing that the “low-hanging fruit is energy efficiency… [it is the] quickest way we can make change.” Expanding energy efficiency programs administered by the Department of Energy would result in fewer resources being used and the reduction of GHG emissions. Senator Angus King (I-ME) noted that “the cleanest kilowatt hour is the one that is never used.”
Congress has the opportunity to enhance DOE’s ability to address the climate crisis by clarifying and adding to its authorization language. Climate change and energy are inextricably linked, and improving and implementing energy efficiency and clean energy technologies will decrease GHG emissions and put the United States on a quicker path to a clean energy future.
For more information on federal energy programs, check out EESI’s recent briefing, How Do Communities Ensure Federal Energy Programs Help Those Most in Need? For information on decarbonization, check out EESI’s recent briefing, Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States.
By: Savannah Bertrand
Top-Rated Climate Nonprofit – 4-Star Charity