After 4.5 years, “Infrastructure Week” is moving from punch line to punch list, with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework becoming a deal.

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John,

After 4.5 years, “Infrastructure Week” is moving from punch line to punch list, with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework becoming a Deal that is expected to move through the Senate in the near future.

We hear so often that Washington is broken. But here we have an excellent example of senators overcoming skepticism and derision to deliver for Americans—including (as we told the New York Times) a major downpayment on clean energy ([link removed]) , innovation, and climate action. As we detail below, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal (“BID”) includes major investments in innovation, clean energy infrastructure, and manufacturing.

Now’s not the time, however, to let up the pressure. We never believed one big bill or agreement would be sufficient to meet the full scope of our climate and clean energy priorities. Congress still needs to pass this deal alongside a budget reconciliation package to make the historic investment in clean energy, job creation, and climate action that the moment requires. But it’s also important to celebrate the small victories, as each one brings us closer and closer to putting the United States on the fastest, fairest path to net-zero emissions for which we’ve all been fighting.

1. “BID” IS A “BFD”

On July 28, the Senate announced it reached a deal on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package that will make a historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure. Later that evening, the Senate voted 67-32 to move the bill forward.

This is only the first step forward in a long journey the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal must take to reach President Biden’s desk. But it’s a tremendous victory for President Biden’s leadership and a functioning government. It’s a huge down payment on the energy infrastructure buildout we need to mitigate the impact of climate change and decarbonize our economy.

Some notable highlights from the deal:
* $27.65B for grid infrastructure, resiliency & reliability
* Nearly $27B for clean energy innovation, including demonstration projects like advanced nuclear and carbon capture that Congress authorized in 2020
* $1.8B for innovation in energy supply chains and manufacturing
* $8B worth of investment tax credits to build or retool facilities that manufacture a wide range of clean energy products, something for which we’ve long advocated ([link removed]) .
* $40B to deploy broadband to unserved areas
* $7.5B for electric vehicle charging infrastructure


We put together a comprehensive Twitter thread, published ([link removed]) by Josh Freed, Senior Vice President of Third Way’s Climate and Energy Program, that breaks down all the numbers. Read through it here ([link removed]) . You can also read Third Way’s full statement on the bipartisan infrastructure deal here ([link removed]) .

What to look for next: The Senate will try to conduct procedural votes through the weekend and vote on the deal next week, after which they’ll send it to the House. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also said he plans to keep the Senate in session potentially well into the night, over the weekends, and into the August recess to draft the budget resolution, which is essentially the roadmap for the budget reconciliation process. Look for reconciliation to really take off in September.

2. PRAGMATISM WORKS

Make no mistake: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is not a big climate plan. And it’s not sufficient on its own to build all the clean energy and fund all of the innovation we need. We’re going to need more investment in clean energy, a Clean Electricity Payment Plan (CEPP), tax incentives, and a Civilian Climate Corps in the reconciliation package. But that’s exactly the point.

As
we discussed with Grist’s Shannon Osaka ([link removed]) in May, we thought that the best path to have the most impact this year was to get “quiet” climate action. That meant including clean energy investments and incentives in many different initiatives rather than passing one BIG climate plan or leaning into regulation. It seems to be working thus far.

3. UNLOCKING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE DOE’S LOAN PROGRAMS OFFICE

One key action in the Bipartisan Deal is a set of practical updates that would help the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) make financing more accessible to clean energy developers. Since its creation, the LPO has been an under-valued jobs creator. Thanks to its financing, more than 30 energy projects have been built, creating at least 37,000 energy jobs, and preventing over 60 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions for innovative energy technologies. Trump tried to kill this program every year. Now it’s receiving more applications in a week than it did in all of 2020.

Our new memo explains how we can provide additional funding to LPO so it can meet surging demand from clean energy companies to participate in the program. Our recommendations include:
* Covering some of the cost of applying for a loan guarantee to increase the number of viable projects that get financed
* Making it easier for smaller firms to qualify for a loan or loan guarantee based on their ability to repay
* Providing the administrative funding LPO to take advantage of the growing demand for innovative clean energy financing

We can build on LPO’s previous success with solar and light-duty electric vehicles to support the next generation of major clean energy technologies, like offshore wind, enhanced geothermal, advanced nuclear, green hydrogen, grid modernization, and more.
READ: How to Unleash the LPO’s True Potential ([link removed])

4. DEMOCRATS AGREE: WE NEED A CCC

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board published A New National Climate Army ([link removed]) , which critiqued the creation of a Civilian Climate Corps (CCC), a new federal civilian workforce program that would put over one million young Americans to work through jobs in climate mitigation, environmental restoration, disaster recovery, community resilience, clean energy installation, and environmental justice.

The WSJ Editorial Board may sneer at the thought of building a diverse, robust, and healthy workforce to fight the climate crisis, but it’s actually an incredibly popular idea. Polling ([link removed]) from Data for Progress found that 65% of voters support the creation of a CCC and enjoys widespread support from Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike.

It’s also a shared priority across the entire Democratic Party. President Biden initially requested $10 billion for a CCC in the American Jobs Plan, and it is backed by everyone from Senator Markey and Representative Ocasio-Cortez, to more moderate lawmakers like Senators Coons, Luján, and Heinrich and Representatives Neguse and Spanberger, as well as groups like the National Wildlife Federation ([link removed]) .

A Civilian Climate Corps is exactly the kind of jobs-creating investment we need in America’s workforce. It would help restore our environment, build climate-resilient infrastructure, provide assistance to underserved communities, and deploy new, clean technologies while stimulating economic activity and putting millions of Americans to work through well-paid, fulfilling climate work.

5. WHAT WE’RE READING

* On the same day that Representative Sean Casten hit the House floor with the second installment ([link removed]) of his must-watch “Hot FERC Summer ([link removed]) ,” The Atlantic’s Rob Meyer published a new piece ([link removed]) on the importance of siting and building out new electricity transmission lines and the role FERC plays in this regulatory process, although the agency often flies under the radar. We’re also listening to Rep. Casten on David Roberts’ Volts podcast ([link removed]) .

* Politico’s Anthony Adragna explained the fine line along which Democrats are carefully moving forward infrastructure negotiations in Climate hawks push Democrats — but can't overplay their hand ([link removed]) . Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi must keep both wings of the party happy to maintain our thin margin and pass both bills at full scale. Environmental activists and green groups should continue voicing support for bold climate policies in the reconciliation bill, but that advocacy shouldn’t come at the expense of the bipartisan deal that moderate Senators are steadfast about passing.

* The COP26 global climate summit, to be hosted in Glasgow in the United Kingdom, is less than 100 days away. The summit has been an invaluable forum to build international support for pathways to cut carbon pollution and commit to clean energy. It has never, however, sufficiently recognized the role nuclear has played—and must continue to play in the future—to get the world anywhere close to net-zero. But recent developments reflect a shift in global thinking around nuclear energy. The International Atomic Energy Agency just stepped up its explicit push ([link removed]) for nuclear to be considered. At the same time, the UK, which will host the summit, released its plan to build out advanced nuclear technologies. ([link removed]) We’ll be engaging much more in this
year’s summit on the value of nuclear energy, particularly if COP26 is hosted in person. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.


Let’s keep the conversation going,

Carly Berke
Climate and Energy Press Coordinator | Third Way
818.422.2759 :: @ThirdWayEnergy ([link removed])

Jared DeWese
Senior Communications Advisor | Third Way
202.427.3709 :: @jareddewese ([link removed])
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