Kristen Cheriegate | ICAST Policy Analyst
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White House Announcements
The White House has been busy and released multiple fact sheets and press releases in relation to the housing and energy industries.
- Modernize Building Codes, Improve Climate Resilience, and Reduce Energy Costs
- In this June 1 announcement, the White House highlighted that modernized energy codes can save households an average of $162 dollars each year on utility bills; unfortunately, two out of every three communities in the United States have not adopted the latest buildings codes and are thus vulnerable to climate impacts and higher energy costs. According to the announcement, the initiative plans to utilize $225 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support implementation of updated building energy codes.
- Justice40 Week of Action
- This May 23 announcement highlighted President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. The order commits to focusing on communities that are “overburdened by pollution, on the frontlines of climate impacts, and marginalized by decades of underinvestment.” The White House also announced the launch of a new website, gov/EnvironmentalJustice, which provides a public platform for information about the Administration’s environmental justice priorities and initiatives.
- New Actions to Ease the Burden of Housing Costs
- This May 16 announcement included a Housing Supply Action Plan, which aims to boost the supply of quality housing in every community through legislative and administrative actions that will help close America’s housing supply shortfall in five years – starting with the creation and preservation of hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units in the next three years.
New York Announces Largest Land-Based Renewable Energy Procurement
On June 2, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced numerous awards for a total of 22 large-scale solar and energy storage projects to be constructed across the state, which together will add more than 2 GW of clean energy and roughly 160 MW of storage to New York’s grid. In addition to boosting the renewable energy total in the state’s energy mix to approximately 66%, the projects are expected to spur over $2.7 billion in private investment and create more than 3,000 short- and long-term jobs across New York.
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils New Interconnection Partnership
May 31, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the “Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X).” Led by the Solar Energy Technologies Office and Wind Energy Technologies Office, along with the support of multiple national laboratories. The new partnership will enable faster interconnection of solar energy, wind energy, and energy storage, while enhancing the reliability and resilience of the United States’ distribution and transmission grid networks.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Provides Millions to Tribal Communities for Affordable Housing
On May 26, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced 83 awards, totaling $147 million, for affordable housing and community development projects that primarily benefit low-to-moderate income persons in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Ninety-five million dollars will go toward helping Tribes develop affordable housing. Nearly $52 million will go toward developing community facilities, carrying out public works projects, and providing economic development assistance; the list of awardees can be found here.