DOE Establishes New Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations
On December 21, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced the establishment of the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, a new DOE office that will help deliver new, good-paying jobs for American families and workers, and reduce pollution while benefitting disadvantaged communities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides more than $20 billion to establish the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and support clean energy technology demonstration projects in areas including clean hydrogen, carbon capture, grid-scale energy storage, small modular reactors and more.
Demonstration projects prove the effectiveness of innovative technologies in real-world conditions at scale to pave the way towards widespread adoption and deployment. The founding of this office represents a new chapter that builds on DOE’s long-standing position as the premier international driver for clean energy research and development, expanding DOE’s scope to fill a critical innovation gap on the path to net zero emissions by 2050.
“Thanks to the investments Congress made in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations will move clean energy technologies out of the lab and into local and regional economies across the country, proving the value of technologies that can deliver for communities, businesses and markets,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “This new office will hire the best and brightest talent to invest in cutting-edge clean energy projects, and DOE is calling on anyone dedicated to addressing the climate crisis to roll up their sleeves and join us.”
This investment in the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations is part of the $62 billion in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will supercharge DOE’s work on clean energy demonstrations to deliver cutting-edge clean energy technologies to communities and businesses across the country. These demonstrations will fund projects totaling hundreds of millions or multiple billions of dollars in scale and will unlock massive follow-on investment from the private sector to deploy these technologies, delivering clean energy and creating good-paying jobs.
The office’s programs also include billions of dollars to invest in demonstration projects in rural areas and economically hard-hit communities, a critical focus of the Justice40 initiative aimed at delivering 40% of clean energy investment benefits to disadvantaged communities and those that are experiencing the first and worst impacts of climate change. The office will consistently engage environmental justice groups, labor and communities to help shape program development and execution. In addition to large-scale projects, DOE will continue to support many smaller-scale pilots and demonstrations that are needed to meet the administration’s climate goals.
