EESI Impact 18 - November 2023 | Newsletter

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Looking Back and Looking Ahead on Climate

From the President, Daniel Bresette

On September 29, 1983, EESI’s first board of directors convened in Washington, D.C., to set the organization’s agenda. In a press release at the time, EESI’s chair, Rep. Richard L. “Dick” Ottinger, said, “We all want to return to the kind of informed, non-partisan debate that has produced a remarkable degree of consensus on protecting the environment.”

Here we are 40 years later, and that sentiment still drives everything we do here at EESI. And you make it all possible!

Turning 40 is a pretty big deal; unfortunately, I would know—but just barely 😉. But EESI is definitely not “over the hill.” The opposite is true. Thanks to you, we are fully charged up and ready to meet the climate challenge.

We will take time over the next year to reflect on our first 40 years. But the climate crisis is already here, and the worst outcomes are yet to come if we fail to act. So the occasion will be very much about preparing for the future.

As we look ahead, I hope you will continue to partner with EESI to advance climate change solutions. Together we can raise awareness about the resilience challenges facing communities. Together we can find new ways to accelerate clean energy deployment at scale, especially in rural areas. And that includes beneficial electrification. And together, through paid internships and scholarships, we can inspire young leaders to find their voice advancing equitable solutions.

Thanks for your partnership.

What You Are Making Possible

Giving Tuesday 2023

Why Give to EESI?

In Focus: Climate Jobs

Reporting on the Progress of Historic Climate Legislation

EESI is tracking the status of implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on multiple fronts by:

Highlighting major implementation updates in a special section of our bi-weekly newsletter, Climate Change Solutions. Go to eesi.org/signup to subscribe!

Hosting “Progress Report” briefings focused on keeping our Congressional audience up-to-date on the latest IIJA and IRA progress by agencies and states.

Setting the Pace for a New Era of Clean Energy in Rural America

Thanks to $11 billion in funding for rural clean energy allocated by the Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently launched two new programs to advance clean energy and boost resilience in rural America: Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) and Empowering Rural America (New ERA).

PACE offers forgivable loans for up to 60 percent of costs for renewable energy projects that use solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, biomass, or renewable-based energy storage. New ERA, the largest investment in rural clean energy since the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, is a $9.7 billion fund for the Rural Utilities Service to support the purchase of renewable energy systems, zero-emission systems, microgrids, and carbon capture systems.

EESI and our partners at the Beneficial Electrification League have been providing assistance to eligible entities—including rural electric cooperatives for New ERA and a broader selection of electricity-generating applicants for PACE—throughout the application process to promote equity and inclusion in the transition to a clean energy economy. USDA reports that demand for both programs is astronomical.

EESI’s Beneficial Electrification Toolkit (www.BEtoolkit.org), which we continually update to remain a useful resource, provides rural utilities with PACE, New ERA, and other critical program guidance.