Congressman Steven Horsford Demands that Congress Pass A Clean Energy Transmission Project Bill to Bring Renewable Energy to Market

NORTH LAS VEGAS, NV - Congressman Steven Horsford (D-NV-04) sent a letter to Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell urging that Congress send the Electric Power Infrastructure Improvement Act to President Biden to be signed into law.

The Electric Power Infrastructure Improvement Act would create an investment tax credit to promote construction of transmission projects across the nation. It would benefit more than 22 large-scale transmission projects across the country, including the Greenlink West Project in Nevada, and support more than 500,000 jobs while connecting modern renewable energy resources to market.

The letter text can be found below:

Dear Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell:

We write to you to discuss our deep desire to include the Electric Power Infrastructure Improvement Act as part of any tax legislation that would directly benefit more than 22 large-scale transmission projects across the country, including the Greenlink West Project in our home state of Nevada. This legislation, which is the House companion to legislation introduced by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and is co-led by Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03), would support more than 500,000 jobs, improve the resilience of the grid and support new projects that connect modern renewable energy resources to the power demands of regional consumer markets. The bill would create an investment tax credit to help promote construction of regionally significant transmission projects across the nation.

We have made significant progress in the last decade in clean energy generation; however, we are simply not doing enough to incentivize investments for the required transmission capacity. Tax incentives have proven to be a major signal to investors to put their capital behind wind, solar and geothermal. We should encourage the same type of growth for the infrastructure that will deliver the power from these resources to market.

Nevada has abundant solar and geothermal resources, which are largely located in the rural regions of our state. Developing these energy resources creates jobs, accelerates our economic recovery and helps Nevada achieve our clean energy goals. However, the success of these projects depends on strong electric transmission infrastructure to carry that power from where it is produced to populous areas of high demand. Wind, solar and geothermal energy sources can work together to form a reliable power mix, but only if there is a robust grid to integrate it all.

In the months and years ahead, we need to expand and revamp our electricity system, which was designed decades ago when most of our power came from large power plants. With a robust "Macro Grid," we can move vast amounts of power from wind, solar and geothermal projects to the towns and cities where that power is needed the most.

Nevada is not alone in the challenge of reconfiguring our electric transmission network to support renewable energy resources. Across the country, inadequate infrastructure is slowing the pace of our transition to clean energy. According to the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, solar energy projects that could power more than 84 million homes are waiting to be added to our electrical grid. Unfortunately, only a quarter of proposed clean energy projects are likely to be built, because our nation has not invested enough in electric infrastructure.

Recently, Secretary Granholm stated "They [Congress] absolutely need to pass and I am feeling actually pretty bullish about it at this very moment," of the clean energy tax credits. Let us seize on this once-in-a-generation opportunity to combat climate change, create good-paying union jobs and provide a better future for our children. Our nation depends on it.

I appreciate you reviewing our concerns and look forward to working with you to ensure this legislation is signed into law by President Biden.

MEDIA CONTACT

Asha Jones | Asha.Jones@mail.house.gov | 702-963-9360