COVID-19 Response
COVID-19 Response
The energy efficiency industry has been severely impacted by COVID-19. The Alliance’s proposals can help workers get back on the job quickly while addressing long-term recovery.
Responding To The COVID-19 Pandemic
The Alliance is working with our Associates to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that lawmakers understand the severe damage playing out in the energy efficiency sector and act accordingly to help rebuild it. A recent report from E2, E4TheFuture, and others found that almost 315,000 energy efficiency workers remain unemployed since the pandemic began in March. Most of these are construction jobs that have been lost as weatherization programs have shut down or demand has fallen for efficiency improvements in homes and buildings. The slowdown ultimately threatens the entire efficiency supply chain, including engineering, manufacturing of building components such as insulation, systems controls and windows, professional services, and other fields.
While we will support a number of policy solutions, including longtime priorities such as expanding weatherization programs and federal financing opportunities, we have developed four priorities focused on stimulating economic activity and creating jobs: modernizing energy efficiency tax incentives, creating a federal grant program for small business energy efficiency retrofits, launching a campaign to retrofit critical public buildings, and expanding investments in efficient transportation and infrastructure.
We will continue to update this page with the latest information and efforts, so please continue to check back.
Policy Priorities
Expansion of Energy Efficiency Tax Credits
As was done under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we are working to expand and extend energy efficiency tax incentives for homes and buildings. This would include, for example, increasing the incentive cap for the Sec. 25C tax incentive for homeowner efficiency improvements to stimulate homeowner investments in the future, and expanding the Sec. 179D buildings incentive to drive deeper retrofits.
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Find out more in the Tax Priorities for Rebuilding the Energy Efficiency Economy and Workforce Proposal
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Read our blog on how Smart Tax Incentives Can Kickstart the Efficiency Economy
Small Business Energy Efficiency Grant Program
We are working on a proposal to create a federal grant program that would support the small businesses being hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic by providing a quick injection of federal matching funding to kick-start energy efficiency retrofits through existing utility demand side management programs.
- Find out more about the Small Business Energy Efficiency Grant Program and additional resources
- Read Alliance Board Member and President of Lime Energy Adam Procell's blog: Driving Energy Efficiency through Small Business Investment
Mission Critical Facility Renewal Program
We are also developing a proposal for funding retrofits in public buildings that would allow the rapid transformation of unoccupied spaces to support public health and other emergencies while improving facility efficiency and resilience.
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Find out more about the Mission Critical Facility Renewal Program and additional resources
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Read former Alliance Interim President Clay Nesler's blog: Economic Stimulus – Let’s Do Building Retrofits RIGHT
Transportation and Infrastructure Investments
We are working with our 50x50 Transportation Action Network to identify opportunities for transportation infrastructure investments that will create jobs and deliver a more efficient and sustainable transportation sector. For this work, we are drawing on priorities developed by the 50x50 Commission on Transportation Sector Efficiency from 2017-2019, including investments in electrification infrastructure, port and airport modernization, public transit, and emerging technologies and trends.
- Find out more about the Transportation and Infrastructure Proposal
- Read the Alliance's Rebecca Price and Alexander Ratner's blog on Restoring our Economy Through Energy Efficiency Investments in Transportation
- Find out how public transit investment can help stimulate the economy in Rebecca Price's blog
Featured Blogs
- From Coast To Coast, Energy Efficiency Jobs Can Revive The Economy (Nov. 23, 2020)
- Proof Our COVID Priorities Could Recover – And Expand – Energy Efficiency Jobs (Sept. 2, 2020)
- Without Congressional Action, It Would Take 15 Years To Recover Energy Efficiency Jobs (Aug. 12, 2020)
- Open Back Better Act Does Economic Recovery Right (June 25, 2020)
Legislative Resources
- Open Back Better Act legislative text
- CARES Act legislative text
- Written Testimony to Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy (Feb. 18, 2021)
- Energy efficiency advocates letter to Congressional leadership on COVID-19 recovery (July 16, 2020)
- Section 25C Tax Incentive Letter to Congressional Leadership (June 3, 2020)
- Mission Critical Facility Renewal Letter to Congressional Leadership (June 2, 2020)
- Energy efficiency stimulus letter to Congressional leadership (April 9, 2020)
- Small Business Administration's Guide to the CARES Act
- Bracewell Policy Resolution Group: How Federal Agencies are Responding to the Stimulus Bill
- Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act (30C) legislative text
What We're Reading
Read about the global implications of the pandemic via the IEA's COVID-19 Hub.
- Senate Democrats won't tear up reconciliation rules, E&E, March 3, 2021
- House passes Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package, POLITICO, Febuary 26, 2021
- 2020 Green Stimulus Spending in the World’s Major Economies, Rhodium Group, Febuary 4, 2021
- Biden wants millions of clean-energy related jobs. Can it happen?, CNN, Febuary 2, 2021
- Democrats' reconciliation plans come into focus, E&E, January 27, 2021
- Biden Seeks $1.9 Trillion for Relief in First Economic Plan, Bloomberg, January 14, 2021
- Clean Energy Sector Approached the New Year Down Nearly 430,000 Jobs From Pre-Pandemic Levels, Morning Consult, January 13, 2021
- Pandemic delays leave many nations facing climate action catch-up in 2021, Reuters, January 8, 2021
- Joe Biden vows to seek trillions of dollars in new stimulus, Financial Times, January 8, 2021
- Funding challenges limit minority-owned businesses' access to energy efficiency, Energy News Network, January 4, 2021
- Breaking down the scale of Capitol Hill's climate and energy deal, Axios, December 22, 2020
- Clean Energy Can Power America’s Economic Recovery, Greentech Media, December 18, 2020
- Omnibus, taxes in limbo as leaders near COVID-19 deal, E&E, December 16, 2020
- Lessons from the Great Recession for COVID-19 green recovery, GreenBiz, December 10, 2020
- Clean Energy Employment Barely Creeps Up as Winter Sets In, November Data Shows, Morning Consult, December 9, 2020
- Biden eyes infrastructure package to help economic, climate goals, The Hill, December 7, 2020
- Energy Efficiency Led US Energy Job Growth is a Best Bet to Lead Sector’s Recovery in 2021, Boston Real State Times, November 19, 2020
- Clean Energy Sector Added Nearly 24,000 Jobs in October, but Winter Outlook Looks Bleak, Report Says, Morning Consult, November 12, 2020
- The pandemic is destroying energy efficiency, Axios, October 19, 2020
- Smart cities: A key element for the green recovery, GreenBiz, September 29, 2020
- Despite grim outlook, advanced energy could help lead economic recovery, experts say, Energy News Network, September 21, 2020
- Funding for school facility improvements a requirement for safe reopening, Education Dive, August 13, 2020
- 10 Charts Show the Economic Benefits of US Climate Action, World Resources Institute, July 28, 2020
- Energy Efficiency Key To Covid Recovery, BloombergNEF, June 26, 2020
- Energy-efficiency industry group presses for tax credits, Roll Call, June 4, 2020
- Nearly 800 businesses request expanded home upgrade credit, E&E News, June 4, 2020
- INSIGHT: Virus Stimulus Should Prioritize Energy Efficient Infrastructure, Bloomberg Law, May 13, 2020
- COVID-19 Will Create Energy Efficiency Opportunities, T&D World, April 30, 2020
- Coronavirus Outbreak Highlights Role of Digital Tools in Energy Efficiency Projects, Forbes, April 30, 2020
- Emissions Declines Will Set Records This Year. But It’s Not Good News., New York Times, April 30, 2020
- What the 2008 financial crisis can teach us about designing stimulus packages today, IEA, April 19, 2020
- Efficiency sector gets creative to stem COVID-19 job losses, maintain energy savings, Utility Dive, April 13, 2020
- Energy Efficiency Industry Seeks Aid as House Panel Seeks Ideas, Bloomberg Environment, April 10, 2020
- Energy efficiency can boost economies quickly, with long-lasting benefits, IEA, April 8, 2020
- 'Horrible.' Coronavirus unravels energy efficiency industry, E&E News, April 7, 2020
- Energy efficiency efforts are shutting down due to COVID-19, threatening jobs and savings, Utility Dive, April 6, 2020
- How an energy jobs coalition can help the US economy bounce back, The Hill op-ed by Ernest Moniz, April 3, 2020
- COVID-19 crisis highlights the need for energy security, says IEA, ESI Africa, March 31, 2020
- Obama's stimulus guru sees post-pandemic Rx for clean energy, E&E News, March 27, 2020
- US Coronavirus Response: 3 Principles for Sustainable Economic Stimulus, World Resources Institute, March 20, 2020
- Put clean energy at the heart of stimulus plans to counter the coronavirus crisis, IEA, March 14, 2020
- Responding to Coronavirus: Low-carbon Investments Can Help Economies Recover, World Resources Institute, March 12, 2020
Read about the global implications of the pandemic via the IEA's COVID-19 Hub.
COVID-19 Response RESOURCES
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