A huge week!!
Over the last 18 months, POW has worked tirelessly with partners to support common ground, common sense legislation.
Introducing: The Energizing Our Communities Act (EOCA).?We are?thrilled to announce the introduction of the?Energizing Our Communities Act, a bill sponsored by Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH) and Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT). The bill was introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on April 18, and?publicly announced on Earth Day.
“This legislation is a testament to the power of how a team of passionate athletes, creatives, scientists, brands, and policymakers can come together to build a better future." - Erin Sprague, CEO, POW
What is the EOCA?
The EOCA is designed to ease local permitting gridlock by reinvesting funds from DOE loan programs into communities that host clean energy infrastructure.
At POW, we advocate and lobby for clean energy development and deployment, finding that transmission remains one of the biggest barriers to scaling clean energy. That is – delivering energy from the source to the customer. Point A to point B.
?There is currently 1,400 GW of available energy (90% of which is for zero-carbon energy like solar, wind and battery storage) seeking connection to our grid. We want to help make that happen!?
In the last three years, significant progress has been made in the energy transition - through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act. Huge investments are making their way into the clean energy sector, but permitting at the local level is stalling out new transmission development.?
To address this, we believe communities that host this clean energy infrastructure deserve to be supported in turn. The EOCA will bring REAL benefits to these communities. Through this bill, communities that host clean energy infrastructure will receive economic assistance for things like roads, bridges, schools, libraries, first responders, outdoor recreation, stewardship, and more.
“This bill addresses outdated infrastructure, bureaucratic hurdles and NIMBYism, offering tangible benefits to communities embracing clean energy infrastructure.” - Ben Gubits, Vice President of Campaigns and Advocacy, POW
Learn more about POW’s legislation on our site ??
“Communities coast to coast in all seasons are seeing undeniable impacts of climate change. The science is clear, and the moment is now - we need to rapidly scale our ability to get more clean energy onto the grid, and I’m proud to support the Energizing Our Communities Act.” - Jeremy Jones, Founder, POW
The energy transition ensures a future of clean air, clean water, and a livable planet.