Legislation to build a more resilient, reliable electric grid introduced
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) announced Thursday that he had introduced legislation designed to strengthen the electric grid by incentivizing the construction of new electric transmission infrastructure.
The bill, The Grid Resiliency Tax Credit Act, would provide a targeted 30 percent investment tax credit supporting large-scale transmission projects and grid enhancing technologies.
“To meet our nation’s full potential as a global leader in the clean energy transition and to replace rapidly aging electric infrastructure, we are going to need to invest in building many more transmission lines,” Heinrich said. “Over the last decade and a half, tax incentives have sent a powerful signal to private investors to put their capital behind new wind and solar projects. We need to send a similarly strong and long-term financial signal that it is worth the time and effort it takes to steer massive transmission infrastructure projects all the way from planning to construction.”
Companion legislation has been introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV).
Heinrich said the legislation would incentivize regionally-significant transmission projects and critical transmission subcomponents, as well as grid-enhancing technologies. Qualifying projects include new transmission projects that cross no fewer than two states or not less than 150 contiguous miles; modifications to existing transmission project that increase transmission by at least 500 megawatts; transmission property used for Interconnection or generator tie-lines; projects investing in certain transmission subcomponents; and grid-enhancing technology projects.
The legislation would add enough new capacity for the grid to integrate an additional 30,000 megawatts of new renewable energy generation, and create over 650,000 clean energy jobs, while deploying more than $15 billion in private capital investment that could result in a $2.3 billion energy cost savings for American consumers.
