McHenry Times

Illinois' 6th Congressional District issued the following announcement on Feb. 12.

Today, U.S. Representative Sean Casten’s (IL-06) Promoting Grid Storage Act of 2019 was considered at the Energy Subcommittee on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Earlier this year, Casten introduced the bipartisan, bicameral bill with U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), which would boost research and development of cutting-edge technologies to increase energy storage capabilities for America’s electric grid and enable the expanded use of clean energy.

Casten said, “Expanding access to clean energy through increases in grid-scale energy storage is fundamental to addressing climate change, enhancing our Nation’s energy security, and bolstering our economy. The transition to a low-carbon, clean energy economy requires a commitment to research, demonstration, and deployment of new and improved energy storage systems across the grid. Increasing energy storage can also help increase the reliability and resiliency of the electrical system, which is vital to keeping our communities safe and our economy strong. I’m proud my bipartisan bill was considered in the subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee today and it will now head to the House floor.”

Promoting Grid Storage Act of 2019 would divide $1.05 billion in authorized funding over five years to:

• Improve coordination and collaboration of the Department of Energy (DOE) energy storage research efforts, which are currently fragmented across several programs.
• Fund DOE grants to assist and boost public and private entities wishing to expand their energy storage capabilities.
• Provide grants for pilot storage systems with a goal of moving promising energy-storage technologies from the laboratory to wide-scale deployment.

Original source can be found here.