Sen. Franken's Job-Creating Energy Measures Pass as Part of Comprehensive Energy Committee Bill

Press Release

Today, several key measures written by U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) were included in a legislative package that cleared the Senate Energy Committee with bipartisan support. His provisions help bolster the reliability and resiliency of our nation's energy grid while, at the same, ramping up the deployment of clean energy technologies and creating new jobs in Minnesota.

The energy package, which Sen. Franken calls a bipartisan compromise, includes his priorities to bolster energy storage, expand energy development in Indian Country, and support the financing of new clean energy projects.

"If we want to compete in the global economy, we need to invest in modern energy systems," said Sen. Franken. "But we're falling behind: Congress has not passed large-scale energy legislation in eight years. While there are things I don't like in the legislative package passed today in the Energy Committee, ultimately I believe it's a good step towards getting us back on track. We have to make stronger investments in energy storage and clean energy technologies, which is why I was pleased that several key measures I wrote were included in the bill. And when the legislation comes before the full Senate, I'm going to continue to fight to improve it."

The comprehensive energy bill would also reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has funded important conservation projects across the country, including Voyageurs National Park and the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. It also includes Sen. Franken's provisions, which you can read about below.

Energy Storage

Energy storage will make enormous improvements to the grid. It will allow us to integrate more renewable resources, improve the security of emergency response infrastructure, and provide ancillary services for grid management. Sen. Franken's provision authorizes $50 million in annual research and development funding to help the Department of Energy develop more affordable and efficient energy storage technologies. In addition, it establishes a technical assistance programs to help states, Indian tribes, and local governments in identifying, evaluating, designing, and deploying the most beneficial and cost-effective energy storage systems.

Reauthorizing the Department of Energy's Office of Indian Energy and Policy

Developing energy resources on tribal lands would help tribes bring power to the most remote parts of Indian Country, improving tribal members' access to reliable and resilient energy. Moreover, such projects would spur the creation of high-quality jobs, which are sorely needed on Indian reservations where unemployment is far above the national rate. Economic development is key to creating prosperity in Indian Country, and the energy sector offers a great opportunity for such development. In order to allow the Department of Energy to continue this important work, Sen. Franken's provision extends the authorization of this vital program by an additional five years.

Opening up the Department of Energy's Loan Programs

Sen. Franken also worked to reform the Department of Energy Loan Program in two important ways. The first was to open the loan program to commercially available technologies that avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gasses. This will allow financing to a growing number of efficient, clean, or renewable projects that otherwise have had difficulty obtaining financing. In addition, Sen. Franken strengthened this section of the bill to ensure that tribal entities will also qualify for this new financing mechanism. This will encourage the development of renewable energy projects, spur economic growth, and bring high-quality jobs to Indian Country.

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