SEEC Clean Energy Deployment Task Force Co-Chairs Sean Casten and Mike Levin Commend FERC Regional Transmission Rule
Washington, D.C. – The Co-Chairs of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) Clean Energy Deployment Task Force, Reps. Sean Casten (IL) and Mike Levin (CA), released the following statement after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finalized its “Building for the Future Through Electric Regional Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation” rule.
“As countless studies, reports, and models have shown at this point, there is no transition without transmission,” said the SEEC Clean Energy Deployment Task Force Co-Chairs. “Today’s action by FERC is a vital step in achieving our goal of a fully clean energy economy that can be enjoyed by all Americans.
“This rule takes steps towards ensuring our grid is meaningfully planned and the costs of the necessary transmission buildout are fairly distributed by those who will benefit from the new capacity. Americans today are already bearing the costs of an improperly planned grid; transmission planners have thus far not adequately accounted for the new forms of cheap, clean energy that are being deployed on the grid at an accelerating pace. A reliable, affordable, and clean grid is only achievable with proper, comprehensive, and forward-looking grid planning.
“We commend FERC, particularly Chair Willie Phillips and Commissioner Allison Clements, for finalizing a strong rule, as we called for alongside 111 of our colleagues in the House and 21 in the Senate back in January. Chair Phillips and Commissioner Clements have moved the fight for electrification forward, and our country is better off for it.
“While FERC has taken an important step today, much remains to be done. With today’s announcement to cover regional planning, FERC, as well as we in Congress, must now turn our attention to the same sort of planning and cost barriers that are holding back the buildout of interregional transmission. Our bill, the Clean Electricity and Transmission Acceleration (CETA) Act, includes a long list of policy reforms to facilitate the buildout of the high-capacity interregional transmission we need to deploy clean energy at the pace and scale necessary to meet our climate goals. We hope today’s action by FERC will spur Congress to finally tackle the remaining transmission policy challenges that are in front of us.”
Background
Reps. Casten and Levin introduced the Clean Electricity and Transmission Acceleration (CETA) Act in December 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 Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and the New Democrat Coalition. Reps. Casten and Levin co-lead the bill with 79 of their House Democratic colleagues as cosponsors.
CETA will bring our electric grid into the 21st century to meet increasing energy demand from economy-wide electrification and data centers. This bill will accelerate the responsible build out of renewable energy on public lands and waters to meet our clean energy and climate goals. And CETA will center early and effective community engagement to ensure that projects have buy in from impacted communities to ensure their success.
In brief, CETA would:
- Amend the Federal Power Act to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue new rules on improving interregional planning, siting, and deployment of transmission.
- Provide a 30% 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.
The text of the bill can be found here.
A section-by-section description of the bill can be found here.
A one-pager on the bill can be found here.
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The Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) is a coalition of 98 members of the U.S. House of Representatives that was founded in January 2009 to be a focused, active, and effective coalition for advancing policies that address climate change, promote clean energy innovation and domestic manufacturing, develop renewable energy resources, create family-sustaining clean jobs, protect our nation’s air, water, and natural environment, and promote environmental justice.
SEEC Co-Chairs are Reps. Doris Matsui (D-CA), Mike Quigley (D-IL), and Paul Tonko (D-NY).
SEEC Vice Chairs are Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA), Matt Cartwright (D-PA), Sean Casten (D-IL), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), and Katie Porter (D-CA).
SEEC Chair Emeritus is Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA).