Climate activists dumped manure outside the White House on Thursday, unimpressed with President Biden’s pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% from 2005 levels by 2030. (See related story, Biden Commits US to Cutting GHG Emissions 50% by 2030.)

But Greg Wetstone, CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy — who knows how difficult it will be to enact policies to meet that target — had a decidedly more upbeat appraisal of the Biden administration’s climate initiatives in its first 100 days.

“I think they’re off to a really excellent start,” he told the Energy Storage Association’s virtual annual conference Thursday, calling the 50% target “immense.”

“I think we have the scale to actually achieve this and deliver on those commitments,” he said.

Karen Wayland, CEO of the GridWise Alliance, told the conference the administration was wise to seek climate gains through infrastructure legislation, referring to the proposed $2.3 trillion American Jobs Act.

“I think the approach that the Biden administration is taking … is one that has a greater chance of success than a purely regulatory play. Investing in infrastructure is durable policy. When you put steel in the ground, you are truly enacting policy. And so starting with a focus on infrastructure, which is highly, highly popular with the American public, is quite a wise thing, and it will result in emission reductions, serious emission reductions, if the investments are made at the scale that he’s talking about.”

With Democrats holding narrow edges in Congress, that’s a very big “if,” Wayland and Wetstone acknowledged. Earlier last week, Republican senators challenged Biden cabinet officials over the infrastructure proposal, saying it is too broad and too costly. (See GOP Senators Grill Biden Cabinet over Infrastructure Bill.)

Tax Credit Proposals

The administration proposal includes an investment tax credit (ITC) to build 20 GW of high-voltage lines and a 10-year extension of a direct-pay ITC for solar and storage.

In contrast, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) last week reintroduced a bill that would give wind, solar and any other non-emitting generating source a production tax credit of 2.5 cents/kWh or an ITC of 30%. Transmission investments of 275 kV or higher also would be eligible for the ITC.

The credits would phase out over five years once the power sector reduces emissions 75% from current levels.

“That’s probably the full breadth of the 10-year budget window if this happens through reconciliation,” which would sidestep a Senate filibuster, Wetstone said. “This would be the first time we’ve ever had, in the renewables sector, the same kind of … certainty that other businesses enjoyed: the ability to plan long-term, knowing that credit’s going to be there in two years, five years, eight years, 10 years. That’s never happened before.”

House Democrats have proposed a five-year extension of the ITC with an expansion to include storage.

“I don’t have a crystal ball about whether the House or Senate [proposal] will pop out at the end, but if you had to ask me what my prediction is for when [a bill will be passed], I’d say we’re looking at a Christmas present,” Wayland said.

Macrogrid?

Wetstone said he’s encouraged by the administration’s support for a “macrogrid” — expanding transmission to connect renewables to load.

“Our grid today, a lot of it was designed in the ’50s. It was designed originally around hydro and then around coal,” he said. “We’re going to need a lot of transmission and a lot of storage and a lot of renewables if we’re going to be able to meet these climate targets.”

Wayland said she was concerned, however, that the legislative proposals have been focused on new transmission, with less support for grid-enhancing technologies (GETs), saying they are essential for meeting climate goals. “For example, on the distribution system, if you want to meet the Biden administration’s goal of 500,000 [electric vehicle] charging stations around the country, those plug into the distribution network. And we’re going to need a lot of investment in the wires and the equipment that services the areas,” she said.

FERC’s Role

Wayland and Wetstone said they believe FERC will play an important role in clean energy policy under Chairman Richard Glick (D).

Wetstone said he expects FERC to address the failure of Order 1000 to boost interregional transmission development. “We don’t know exactly what it’s going to be, but we’ve heard from Chairman Glick a very strong signal that they’re going to be acting,” he said.

He also noted the commission’s recent approval of its policy statement inviting RTOs to propose state-initiated carbon pricing and calls by Glick and Commissioner Allison Clements (D) for eliminating the minimum offer price rule (MOPR) in PJM, which would make state-subsidized renewables more competitive.

“FERC has been clear that that needs to be fixed,” Wetstone said. “We seem to already have a majority in favor of that and that’s going to be clearly solidified when there is a third Democrat on the five-member commission, which will presumably happen in early summer,” after Republican Commissioner Neil Chatterjee’s term expires June 30.

Wayland agreed. “We’re seeing better language coming out of FERC on the role of state policy,” she said.

‘Headwinds’

Jason Burwen, acting CEO of ESA and moderator of the talk Thursday, worried about “headwinds” that could jeopardize progress, citing concerns about supply chains for materials needed for energy storage and “uncertainty about global trade issues.”

Wayland and Wetstone acknowledged that getting proposals through Congress will not be easy.

“Infrastructure makes tremendous sense as a place to start,” Wetstone said. If “we get a level playing field on the tax rule, then there is room for regulatory action down the road. And there the questions are: Is the Supreme Court going to prevent us from addressing the climate problem and protecting our planet?

“This is it. This is the opportunity to get serious about climate, and I don’t think we’re going to see another one that’s going to be comparable or where we really have time to catch up,” he continued. “So we know we have to get started now in a big way.”