Announcements
Building on the Inflation Reduction Act's groundbreaking investments, the Treasury Department and IRS have issued guidance on bonus credits available to clean energy projects that meet domestic content thresholds.
Read DOE's blog on how this will lead to more American manufacturing, and learn more about these and other incentive programs in the updated WETO fact sheet on U.S. Wind Industry Federal Incentives, Funding, and Partnership Opportunities.
As part of President Biden's Investing in America agenda, DOE, Treasury, and IRS announced $4 billion in tax credits for projects that expand clean energy or critical materials manufacturing or recycling, with $1.6 billion set aside for projects in designated energy and coal communities. DOE will begin accepting applications later this month, with concept papers due July 31, 2023.
To help define critical materials for this and other efforts, DOE issued a Request for Information seeking public feedback on DOE’s draft Critical Materials Assessment, which includes rare earth magnets used in wind turbines. Responses are due to CriticalMaterialsRFI@ee.doe.gov by 5:00 pm ET on June 20, 2023.
DOE’s Loan Programs Office released updated Program Guidance for the Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program, which can provide $300 billion in loan guarantees for clean energy, facility decarbonization, and energy infrastructure reinvestment projects. The new Program Guidance updates program eligibility, application requirements, and evaluation criteria, and incorporates new authorities established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
We’re Big Fans💨 of This News
The Collegiate Wind Competition wrapped up its 10th annual competition on May 19 in Colorado. Congratulations to Kansas State University for earning the top spot and the University of Colorado Boulder for coming in second place (check out their interview with CBS Colorado).Â
 Learn about the winners of specific contests, how other teams placed, and apply for the 2024 competition.
Clean Energy Champions
It takes talents of all sorts to work toward a clean energy future: scientists, engineers, governors… but someone has to get the word out. Enter the communicators! 🗣 Meet WETO’s Communications Lead, Liz Hartman, who has been helping with internal and external wind communications for DOE since 2009. Hartman initially led communications for EERE’s combined Wind and Water Power Technologies Office until the two renewable energy powerhouses became separate offices in 2016.
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Events
Webinar: June 8, 2023, 1–2 p.m. ET, Virtual
In this webinar, hosted by the Department of Energy’s WINDExchange initiative, panelists will discuss perspectives on the various impacts of offshore wind energy projects on the communities near where they are sited. Speakers will include Alison Bates (assistant professor of Environmental Studies at Colby College), Jacob Miller (tribal liaison for Vineyard Offshore), and Benjamin Gallinelli (vice president of the Southern New Jersey Development Council).
Conference: June 12–13, 2023, Arlington, VA
The Transmission & Interconnection Summit 2023 will bring together the leading policymakers, senior executives, and leading experts working to reimagine interconnection and transmission planning processes to meet the needs of the clean energy transition. The event will begin with a keynote from DOE Deputy Secretary of Energy David M. Turk.
Webinar: June 21, 2023, 12–2 p.m. MT, Virtual
Join distributed wind energy experts and advocates for a workshop exploring innovative ways to improve the successful DOE-funded, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)-administered Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP). This discussion will cover award topic areas, scoring criteria updates, lab-based technical assistance, and diversity expansion. Speakers include WETO’s Bret Barker, NREL’s Ian Baring-Gould, and more!
Webinar: June 27, 2023, 2 p.m. ET, Virtual
This webinar, hosted by DOE and Treasury, will provide information about how small-, medium-, and large-sized manufacturers can prepare and submit concept papers for the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit program. The registration link to attend this webinar will be provided by Clean Energy Infrastructure on June 12, 2023.
In Case You Missed It
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