Page 7 - NorthAmOil Week 45 2021

NorthAmOil POLICY NorthAmOil

Biden to sign bipartisan infrastructure

bill, fund modernised grid and ports

US US President Joe Biden will sign into law the $1.2 Authority, invests in research and development
trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. for advanced transmission and electricity distri-
The Democrat-led bill was passed by the bution technologies, and promotes smart grid
House of Representatives at almost midnight technologies that deliver flexibility and resil-
on November 5 with the help of some moderate ience, the document continued. It also invests
Republicans. It had already passed the US Sen- in demonstration projects and research hubs
ate, so now goes to Biden for his signature, after for next-generation technologies like advanced
which it becomes law. nuclear reactors, carbon capture, and clean
Biden said on Saturday that he will sign it hydrogen.
soon. There are some indications that he will not “The bipartisan support for large-scale
sign it until next week, when Congress returns regional and interregional transmission sends a
from a recess. strong message to the industry and its regulators
The news is significant because the bill con- to get busy planning, permitting and paying for
tains substantial funding for a modernised grid, new and expanded lines, and provides a wide
which is crucial for moving renewable energy to variety of support in each of those areas,” said
population and industrial centres and stabilising Rob Gramlich, president of Grid Strategies.
the flows of electricity. The bill also offers $17.4bn for waterway
It also contains funding for ports, vital for eas- and coastal infrastructure, inland waterway
ing supply chain bottlenecks, which have espe- improvements, and port infrastructure. As The bill, also
cially dogged the US wind industry because of much as $450mn of that per year for five years
the heavy components used. Upgraded ports are would go to the Department of Transportation’s known as INVEST
also needed to support the new and fast-growing Port Infrastructure Development Programme,
US offshore wind sector. said the National Ocean Industries Association in America, is
Biden hailed the bill and said it would cre- (NOIA).
ate millions of jobs and improve the domestic “The bipartisan infrastructure deal is a mile- separate from
economy. stone that will support the ascendant American the reconciliation
“Together, these once-in-a-generation invest- offshore wind opportunity,” said NOIA President
ments will unlock the full potential of a clean Erik Milito. “Our ports are the gateway to our bill.
energy economy that combats climate change, nation’s offshore wind opportunity. Access to the
advances environmental justice, and creates capital will help ports invest and improve their
good-paying, union jobs,” said the White House operational capabilities in support of American
in a fact sheet. offshore wind and the generational opportunity
Specifically, the bill includes $65bn for a it provides.”
modernised electricity grid and long-distance The bill, also known as INVEST in America,
transmission. is separate from the reconciliation bill, which
“It upgrades our power infrastructure, Democrat leaders say will be heard in the House
including by building thousands of miles of of Representatives by November 15 and which
new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the – in its current version – includes $550bn in cli-
expansion of renewable energy,” said the fact mate items such as extended and more widely
sheet. available production tax credits for wind and
It creates a new Grid Deployment solar power.™

Week 45 11•November•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7