Our August Energy & Sustainability Washington Update covers the new bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, the introduction of the DOE’s AI Act to advance American leadership and Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security, and Technology (FASST) initiative, a funding opportunity for solar and battery storage in Puerto Rico, and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and IRA opportunities.

Read about President Biden’s recent withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election and his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, including her stance on technology, climate change, health care, and tax policy.

Our July 2024 Energy & Sustainability Washington Update covers the IRS’s final rules on wage and registered apprenticeships at clean energy projects, the new set of supply chain cybersecurity principles released by the DOE, upcoming funding opportunities for small modular reactor technologies and methane emissions reduction, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and IRA opportunities.

Our June 2024 Energy & Sustainability Washington Update covers the IRA’s $8.8 billion Home Energy Rebates program, the Treasury’s guidance on Advanced Energy Project Tax Credits, new federal opportunities related to transmission expansion and critical minerals, hot EPA issues, and new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and IRA opportunities.

Read about the Local Infrastructure Financing Tools (LIFT) Act, pending legislation that calls for policy changes and types of bonds that could be used by governments and nonprofits nationwide for a range of public infrastructure and capital improvement projects.

The highly anticipated guidance for the second round of allocations (Round Two) under the US Treasury’s §48C Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit program was released this week pursuant to IRS Notice 2024-36, with concept papers due potentially in the next 45 days.[1] That doesn’t provide applicants much time, but those with eligible projects should strongly consider submitting a concept paper. Submission of a concept paper is required to submit a full application, and receiving a letter of discouragement from the Department of Energy (DOE) on a concept paper does not preclude an applicant from submitting a full application. Moreover, an applicant that applied for but failed to receive an allocation in the first round is not precluded from applying for an allocation in Round Two.

Our May 2024 Energy & Sustainability Washington Update covers several DOE developments, including a final rule setting new clean energy targets for federal buildings, a report addressing commercialization of offshore wind, and a simplified NEPA process for some projects, plus final EPA rules aimed at cutting pollution from fossil fuel–fired power plants and $54 million in federal funding for electric mobility.

Our April 2024 Energy & Sustainability Washington Update covers new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law & Inflation Reduction Act opportunities, new DOE funding for industrial decarbonization, electric heat pumps, and Interconnection of renewable energy into the grid, plus new vehicle pollution standards focused on EVs and a new national zero-emission freight corridor strategy.

Read about a $425 million funding opportunity issued by the DOE’s Office of Manufacturing Energy Supply Chains. The program aims to support small- and medium-sized manufacturers that produce or recycle advanced energy products or contribute to emissions reductions within the manufacturing sector.

Our March 2023 Energy & Sustainability Washington Update covers contenders for the House Energy & Commerce Committee Republican leadership post in the next Congress, new DOE opportunities for advanced battery manufacturing, the second round of Defense Production Act funding for electric heat pumps, a new program to support transit & school bus fleet electrification, an update on the NEVI Program for EV charging infrastructure, and new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law & Inflation Reduction Act opportunities.