Significant Energy Legislation Poised to Become Law with COVID-19 Relief
USA
December 23 2020
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Act), which passed both chambers of Congress on December 21, 2020, for the purpose of funding the government in fiscal year (FY) 2021 and providing COVID-19 relief, also included the most comprehensive bipartisan energy and climate legislation of the past decade. If signed into law, the legislation authorizes over $35 billion for the development of various clean energy technologies, including wind, solar, energy storage, energy efficiency, carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), carbon removal, and nuclear energy, primarily through programs run through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and authorizes additional monies to be allocated to emissions-reducing projects through the DOE’s Title XVII loan guarantee program. It also extends and in some cases expands a number of energy tax incentives that support investments in renewable and cl
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
On December 21, the Congress passed legislation providing $1.4 trillion in federal funding for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 and approximately $900 billion for COVID-19 relief. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which has been the subject of weeks of highly scrutinized Congressional negotiations, includes sweeping provisions that span clean energy research and development, programs focused on climate policy, energy tax extenders, pipeline safety reauthorization, water infrastructure, and language limiting surprise medical billing. At a total cost of $2.3 trillion, the 5,593-page package is the second-largest bill ever passed by Congress.
Following the 2020 Presidential election, Congress returned to Washington with a substantial agenda to be addressed before wrapping up its legislative work for the 116th Congress. Federal funding had initially been extended through December 11, 2020 under a continuing resolution (CR), leaving Congress with just