Dear Senator Manchin,
On behalf of our organizations and your constituents who we represent, we urge you to ensure the Clean Electricity Payment Program* receives the full funding of $150 billion dollars in funding as part of the infrastructure reconciliation package.
The Clean Electricity Payment Program is an essential component of President Biden’s build back better agenda. By ensuring that 80% of our electricity is powered by clean energy sources by 2030, this payment program will save 317,000 lives, create more than 500,000 new jobs, not increase electricity costs, and maintain the reliability of the grid according to a meta-analysis of 7 independent models**.
Fully funding the Clean Electricity Payment Program is essential for it to function effectively and equitably. Congress must ensure there is enough funding to ensure utilities can retire dirty fossil fuel power plants that they have not finished paying off, without passing those costs on to ratepayers. For over a century West Virginians have carried the burden of our energy needs and it is of utmost importance we don’t bear the financial burden as we transition to clean energy.
West Virginians have experienced both the positive impacts, like good paying union jobs but we have also suffered the negative impacts associated with extraction. Our communities and water have been polluted for decades leaving generations with cancer, asthma, and other lasting health impacts. We have the unique opportunity to stay relevant as an energy producer and restore our healthy communities by adapting to renewable energy sources. The Clean Electricity Payment Program will help ensure we not only benefit from this transition but thrive because of it. A recent study*** shows that a pathway to 80% clean electricity would create over 3,500 full-time jobs and $20.9 billion in solar, wind, and energy storage investments for West Virginia by 2040.
To ensure the Clean Electricity Payment Program and all the other priorities such as the $300 billion clean energy tax incentives in the reconciliation package can be fully funded, it is important to ensure the topline number of $3.5 trillion remains constant. We urge you to oppose any attempt to decrease the overall spending level of the reconciliation package.
We cannot meet President Biden’s greenhouse gas reduction goal of 50-52% by 2030 without rapidly decarbonizing the electricity sector, and providing the full $150 billion for the Clean Electricity Payment Program is crucial to clean up the electric sector.
Thank you for representing West Virginia in the US Senate and on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Sincerely,
Christians For The Mountains
Enel North America
Future Generations University
Gesundheit Institute
Hillsboro Maple Works
Jefferson County Foundation
League of Women Voters of West Virginia
Levels Depot LLC
Marlyn McClendon Photography
Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action
Mountain View Solar LLC, Government relations
On the Levels Farmstead
Renick Box Co LLC
Revolt Energy
Solar United Neighbors
Stewards of the Potomac Highlands
TRAILS
West Virginia Climate Alliance
Women’s March West Virginia
WV Interfaith Power and Light
WVU College of Law Center for Energy & Sustainable Development
Yew Mountain Center
*
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mMt9HZXlRhk1J4-U_GvE28Q0tw02E7dj/view**
https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Studies-Converge-on-Benefits-of-a-Rapid-Clean-Energy-Transition.pdf***
https://energy.law.wvu.edu/west-virginias-energy-future/built-back-better