Sen. Heinrich Introduces Two Bills that will Help Enhance America’s Grid

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced two bills today that will help incentivize and improve the efficiency of the process to construct critically important transmission infrastructure in America. The Grid Resiliency Tax Credit Act would establish a 30% investment tax credit (ITC) for qualifying electric power transmission line property and grid-enhancing technologies. The Facilitating America’s Siting of Transmission and Electric Reliability (FASTER) Act would streamline Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) backstop siting authority, allowing the Commission to authorize National Interest Electric Transmission Facilities. Following is a statement from Gregory Wetstone, President and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE):

“ACORE applauds Sen. Heinrich for championing these important policies. We must dramatically expand and upgrade America’s electrical grid to ensure reliability in the face of increasingly frequent severe weather events, lower costs for the nation’s electricity consumers, and fully realize the renewable growth expected under the Inflation Reduction Act. Studies show transmission capacity will need to triple by 2050 to reach President Biden’s goal of net-zero emissions across the economy. The best way to accomplish this is by incentivizing the construction of critical high-voltage transmission lines with a transmission ITC. In addition to enhancing our grid’s overall reliability and security, a 30% transmission ITC would create over 650,000 good-paying jobs, add 30,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity to the grid, and spur more than $15 billion in private capital investment. This proposal, combined with the FASTER Act, which will improve the needlessly complicated process of siting interstate transmission infrastructure here in the United States, will bring us closer to a 21st century Macro Grid capable of delivering the clean energy future Americans want and deserve.”

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About ACORE:

For more than 20 years, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) has been the nation’s premier pan-renewable nonprofit organization. ACORE unites finance, policy and technology to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy. For more information, please visit www.acore.org.

Media Contacts:
Alex Hobson
Sr. Vice President, Communications
American Council on Renewable Energy
hobson@acore.org | 202.777.7584 (o) | 202.594.0706 (c)

Dylan Helms
Associate, Communications
American Council on Renewable Energy
helms@acore.org | 202.891.7868 (o) | 727.290.8804 (c)