Earlier in November, President Joe Biden signed a 1.2 trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill that will include billions of investments in America’s infrastructure over the next 5 years. This upgrade will not only improve a sorely outdated system, but will also create millions of new jobs, and aid in ushering in a clean energy future. While funding for roads and bridges is high on the priority list, what does this new bill mean for renewable energy?
New Infrastructure Bill includes:
Electric Vehicles
This new legislation will invest 7.5 billion into low emission buses and ferries, with a hefty goal of delivering 2.5 billion dollars’ worth of electric school buses across school districts throughout the country. On top of this, another 7.5 billion will be dedicated to building a national network of EV charging stations along interstates and within communities.
Grid Infrastructure
This package will include 65 billion dollars towards giving the grid a desperately needed upgrade. Citing last year’s extreme winter storm in Texas that led to unprecedented power outages, the White House says this money will go to power infrastructure and the building of thousands of miles of new transmission lines to help facilitate new growth within the renewable energy industry. Although grid infrastructure is the main goal, 46 billion will be spent in the improvement of grid flexibility and cybersecurity. This resiliency upgrade will not only provide protection from cyberattacks but will also provide security against major weather disruptions such as floods and droughts.
Energy Storage
In an effort to help bolster America’s energy storage capabilities, this bill includes 3 billion in grants for battery processing materials and an additional 3 billion in grants for battery manufacturing, and recycling. This improvement in battery storage is a key player in the overall health and wellbeing of the nation’s attempt to reach the Biden administrations clean energy goals by 2030.
Environmental Remediation
This bill will provide a 21-billion-dollar superfund to help clean up abandoned mine land and oil wells. Capping these orphaned gas wells will protect against methane leaks and potent greenhouse gases from escaping and unleashing more destructive properties into the environment. In addition, this will include some climate adaptations such as tree planting, and forest conservation and management.
Our thoughts on the new Infrastructure Bill:
At Bridgelink Engineering, we see this as a giant step forward in the right direction not only for our nation, but for the planet as a whole and we remain honored to be a part of such a monumental undertaking toward the revitalization of our environment. Stay tuned for more information and news on how Bridgelink Engineering will be participating in the growth and change of our country’s infrastructure system.
