US infrastructure bill will accelerate energy transition, supporters say
Supporters of a $1 trillion spending plan passed November 5 by the US House of Representatives said it would help accelerate the energy transition.
Thirteen members of the Republican party, the minority, crossed party lines to vote in favour of president Joe Biden’s signature spending plan on infrastructure.
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“Whether it be investments to expand renewable energy and make our electric grid more resilient and reliable, or funding for electric vehicle infrastructure, we are accelerating the move to clean energy,” said Frank Pallone, Jr., a Democrat representing New Jersey in the House and the chairman of the chamber’s Energy and Commerce Committee.
The packed measure includes $39bn for investments in the transportation sector, the largest single source of US greenhouse gas emissions. Part of that spending would go to produce zero-emission vehicles for public transit.
Another $7.5bn could go toward the construction of a national network of charging stations for electric vehicles.
“It will get America off the sidelines on manufacturing — manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, battery storage, energy and power for electric vehicles from school buses to automobiles,” Biden said.
Elsewhere, the legislation outlines $65bn in upgrading power infrastructure to accommodate renewables and other forms of clean energy, an investment the federal government said was the largest for the grid in US history. An additional $21bn would go to reclaim abandoned mines and cap off orphaned oil and gas wells.
Six so-called progressive members of the Democrats voted against the measure, saying it fell short of their expectations. Republican leaders, meanwhile, chastised their colleagues who crossed the aisle as party members in name only.