Clean Fuel News

• On July 12, 2023, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will travel to Louisiana to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government approach to reaching America’s clean energy future. 
• The Secretary will provide a keynote address at the Department of Energy’s 19th Annual Small Business Forum and Expo, followed by a tour at the Home Builder’s Institute to amplify how President Biden’s Investing in American agenda is helping drive down consumer energy costs in Louisiana and across the nation.  

• In 2022, there were already 156,736 Louisiana workers employed in the energy sector.  
• In the New Orleans area in 2021, over 52% of the electric power generation workforce was in wind and solar, and over 6,000 workers were employed in energy efficiency.  
• The Inflation Reduction Act will expand these opportunities, bringing an estimated  $5 billion of investment in large-scale clean power generation and storage to Louisiana between now and 2030. 

• Louisiana is home to 471,240 small businesses, representing 99.5% of all businesses and employing 52.7% of all workers in the state, and the Inflation Reduction Act will help them save money. Commercial building owners can receive a tax credit up to $5 per square foot to support energy efficiency improvements that deliver lower utility bills. Other programs that will benefit small businesses include tax credits covering 30% of the costs of installing low-cost solar power and of purchasing clean trucks and vans for commercial fleets. 

• Louisiana has set a goal to be net zero emissions across the economy by 2050. New Orleans also has an ambitious goal of 100% clean energy by 2035, with 255 MW of local solar by 2030.  
• Currently, Louisiana has 145 MW of solar, wind, and storage capacity. There is over 1.1 GW of additional planned solar capacity in the works in Louisiana, which will increase the amount of clean energy available on the state’s grid by a factor of 7 and power more than 170,000 additional homes.  
• The Inflation Reduction Act tax credits that encourage investment in wind and solar will help reduce energy costs, as the costs of solar and wind power are projected to drop by 22% and 34%, respectively, over the next 30 years in Louisiana. 
• Since the start of the Biden Administration, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has tracked more than $100 billion in new battery supply chain investments, including $852 million in Louisiana. In the same period, DOE has tracked over $3.5 billion in announced manufacturing and port investments to facilitate offshore wind. This includes three vessel production facility investments in Louisiana. 

• Thanks to funding from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has made available more than $68.7 million in the past year to Louisiana’s state and local governments to invest in energy efficiency and grid resilience. This includes administrative funding to build a robust rebate program to help low-income households access more efficiency appliances and over $8 million to help strengthen grid resilience.  
• Two Louisiana projects have been selected to receive DOE funding that will support the development of community-informed integrated carbon capture, transport, and storage. The Lake Charles Power Station Integrated CO2 Capture Project in Westlake, LA, and the Cypress Carbon Capture Project in Hahnville, LA, will invest in capturing carbon from existing natural gas power plants.  
• Koura has received $100 million from DOE to build a battery materials processing facility in St. Gabriel, LA, which will help provide a domestic supply of an important battery component. Syrah Technologies LLC also received over $219 million to expand the production capacity of an anode manufacturing facility, adding an additional 120 jobs in Vidalia, LA.  

• The Biden Administration has committed to advancing equity for all communities, including through the Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure Federal agencies deliver at least 40% of the overall benefits of climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, clean water, and other investments to disadvantaged communities. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has more than 140 programs covered by this initiative. 
• The City of New Orleans is partnering with DOE’s Communities LEAP program to support a community coalition effort to achieve the City’s ambitious clean energy goals, which will reduce the impacts and costs of power outages and natural disasters. 
• Together New Orleans, a coalition of congregations and civic organizations, is getting support from the Energy Storage for Social Equity Initiative to develop a community lighthouse, a resilience hub with solar and storage. The initiative seeks to expand this concept to 85 disaster resilience hubs powered by solar and storage.  
• The Orleans Parish School Board was selected in the first round of the Community Power Accelerator Prize, which seeks to expand access to community solar. They are now competing for a share of a larger prize. 
• Feed the Second Line’s Get Lit, Stay Lit project has won the $250,000 grand prize in the DOE Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize competition. The organization is working with neighborhood restaurants to install solar panels and batteries to help food sites, cooling centers, and cell phone charging hubs empowers local businesses to become first-first responders. 

For current DOE funding opportunities, visit: www.energy.gov/infrastructure