U.S. Chamber Testimony Calls on President, Congress to Move Forward on Clean Energy Technology Initiatives

Permit Streamlining, Energy Savings Performance Contracts Program Can Create Tens of Thousands of Jobs, Kovacs Says

WASHINGTON D.C.—In a testimony before Congress today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce called on lawmakers to streamline the broken permitting process for approving new energy projects and for better utilization of the Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) program in order to promote energy efficiency and create tens of thousands of new jobs.

“Congress, without the use of any federal funds, can create tens of thousands of clean energy and energy efficiency jobs,” said Bill Kovacs, senior vice president of Environment, Technology, and Regulatory Affairs during his testimony before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight.

In his testimony, Kovacs expressed disappointment that the President’s “Better Buildings Initiative,” lacks discussion of the ESPCs. Under the ESPC program, an Energy Service Company (ESCO) installs new energy efficient equipment at Federal facilities at no upfront cost to the government. Federal agencies pay off the investment over time with the funds saved on utility costs, and the private sector contractors guarantee the savings. To date, only a small percentage of the $80 billion set for the program has ever been met.

“It is puzzling that the nation’s largest energy user—the Federal government—cannot find ways to use this program more effectively,” said Kovacs. “At a time when there is a critical need for reduced government spending, ensuring the availability of mechanisms to save energy in Federal buildings at no upfront cost to the government is good policy. If used to their full potential, ESPCs can create tens of thousands of full-time jobs.”

A recent analysis by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that reaching the $80 billion mark over 15 years could result in $21 billion in net savings to the U.S. Government while creating over 40,000 new jobs annually for a decade. The energy savings from this program would be the equivalent of taking approximately 10 million cars permanently off the road. To maximize the benefits of the ESPC program, the Chamber recommends the following actions:

• Issuance of a Presidential Executive Order directing that agencies use ESPCs for the majority of their energy projects and energy related infrastructure acquisitions. The Executive Order should state a preference of private sector financing mechanisms such as ESPCs and Utility Energy Services Contracting to upgrade Federal facilities and meet energy efficiency and sustainability-related mandates and goals.
• Expanded training for Federal ESPC employees and improvement of the level of contracting knowledge among agency officials responsible for management of ESPC programs. Where deficiencies in the knowledge base among contracting officials are noted, immediate steps should be undertaken to address and correct this problem.
• Congressional oversight and reporting. Agencies should be required to make periodic reports to Congress as to the progress they are making in achieving the $80 billion ESPC target.

Kovacs also called on Congress to enact legislation to streamline the siting and permitting process for new energy projects. He highlighted the Chamber’s recent Project No Project initiative, a first-of-its-kind economic study identifying 351 stalled energy projects nationwide that in aggregate are costing the American economy $1.1 trillion in GDP and 1.9 million jobs a year that could be created during the construction phase of these projects alone. The study estimates the potential loss of investment and jobs in the proposed renewable, coal, natural gas, nuclear, and transmission projects in 49 states that have been delayed or cancelled due to “Not in My Back Yard” (NIMBY) activism, a broken permitting process, and a system that allows for limitless lawsuits by opponents. The study features a state-by-state analysis that details the economic output and jobs that could be created by acting on these stagnant projects. The findings are detailed on the user-friendly site www.projectnoproject.com, which features an in-depth breakdown of every stalled project.

“Failure to find a path forward that will allow projects to be built in a reasonable timeframe should not be acceptable,” said Kovacs. “If we fail to take on this challenge, we could find ourselves faced with an endless litany of project failures, loss of investor confidence, fewer jobs created than we have the potential to create, and an inability to provide this nation with the energy it needs.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.

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