House energy coalition says Republicans wasted time last week on dirty ‘Energy Week’

Last week, members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) Clean Energy Deployment Task Force continued to work on a vision for American clean energy in the future.

But, House Republicans “doubled down on their goal of increasing emissions and costs for American families all while turning a blind eye to energy reliability,” according to Co-chair Sean Casten of Illinois.

 

Casten and U.S. Rep. Mike Levin of California, also a co-chair of the SEEC, introduced the Clean Electricity and Transmission Acceleration (CETA) Act in December 2023 to serve as a consensus House Democrat vision to address the primary permitting and transmission issues holding back the American clean energy transition. The bill is endorsed by the House SEEC, the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the New Democrat Coalition.

CETA will bring the American electric grid into the 21st century to meet increasing energy demand from economy-wide electrification and data centers. The bill will accelerate the responsible build out of renewable energy on public lands and waters to meet clean energy and climate goals. CETA will center early and effective community engagement to ensure that projects have buy-in from impacted communities to ensure their success.

“The American people have been clear — they want expanded access to cleaner, cheaper, more reliable forms of energy,” Casten said. “Rep. Levin and I introduced the Clean Electricity and Transmission Acceleration Act to do just that. If our colleagues across the aisle prioritize the needs of energy consumers over the wants of energy producers, they’d bring our bill to the floor for a vote. Instead, we’ve spent another week voting on handouts to the fossil fuel industry.”

CETA would: 

– Amend the Federal Power Act to direct the Federal Regulatory Commission to issue new rules on improving interregional planning, siting and deployment of transmission.

– Provide a 30 percent transmission investment tax credit.

– Incentivize development of renewable energy on priority areas within our public lands.

– Reform the Outer Continental Shelf Lands to encourage offshore wind deployment.

– Expand meaningful consultation with disadvantaged groups and communities in the permitting process.

“Instead of bringing up transformative energy policies like the Clean Electricity and Transmission Acceleration Act that move us into the future, House Republicans are wasting their time on a dirty ‘Energy Week.’ Republicans’ bills prop up Big Oil and Gas while doing nothing to lower costs for our constituents,” Levin said of last week. “These policies stick to the old polluting playbook rather than transitioning to a clean energy economy that tackles climate change and creates thousands of jobs. We need to be forward-thinking in our energy policies to build a future that is more sustainable, cleaner and energy secure.”