Welcome to KnowThis Live,
where we talk about all the news and issues you need to know I'm Zinhle
Essamuah. The Biden administration has announced its new proposed $2 trillion
infrastructure plan,
which includes a massive plan to grow green jobs and sustainable development
here to discuss this and a whole lot more is energy secretary,
Jennifer Granholm. Thank you so much for being here.
Zinhle, so glad to be on.
Yes, and I want to jump right in.
I know this proposal includes a lot of goals and initiatives around
refreshing climate infrastructure.
I think about reducing carbon dioxide emissions,
carbon capture and sequestration, uh,
as a way to clean up emissions from power plants and electrifying the grid,
knowing all that it's a big agenda. What are the top priorities for you?
Well, clearly for us deployment, deployment,
deployment of clean energy solutions. And that means, you know,
obviously wind and solar offshore, wind,
but even even technologies that people may not be, uh,
often familiar with like geothermal or advanced
hydrogen power, which is kind of cool. And I'm super,
because I'm the former governor of Michigan.
I'm super interested in electrifying everything,
but particularly the transportation sector and that means electric vehicles.
And that means batteries for those electric vehicles and that all means jobs in
the United States. So there's a lot in there to like.
And even in your first speech as energy secretary, you said,
we're going to need hundreds of gigawatts, of clean,
new energy to get to the goals you have set in the next
four years. How will we practically get there?
Well, first we have to pass the American Jobs Plan.
That is the straightest quickest way that we can do the investments that are
necessary to get to this.
And it's not just my goal and it's not just President Biden's goal,
but it is the goal that we have agreed to when we reentered the Paris Accord.
So we want to get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and
100% clean electricity by 2035.
That means that we really have to put people to work in generating
that clean electricity. And that means a ton more solar, a ton, more wind,
a ton more offshore.
It also means researching and developing the next generation of technology.
So the really cool stuff like, um,
coming out of our advanced research projects, agency,
things like batteries that are made from dirt
who know, I mean, there's just some really cool stuff, tidal power, um,
and harnessing the waves to be able to put energy on the grid,
the next generation materials to make blades for wind turbines,
really lightweight and therefore very efficient.
There's just so much going on in this clean energy space that could provide all
kinds of jobs for all kinds of people and save the planet.
So you've said that part of the reason you were selected for this role is
because during your time as governor of Michigan,
you largely champion the effort to get the auto industry to move to electric
vehicles. So how do you see that happening across states and industries?
Well, first of all,
we have to pass the American Jobs Plan to be able to make the investments that
are necessary. You know, we've um, as a nation,
we have watched other countries develop their battery technology for
example, which of course is the guts for the electric vehicle. And,
and we haven't done much like other countries have done to try to corner that
market. So this gives us the tools to invest,
to be able to build batteries in the United States,
which is a precursor to building electric vehicles, number one. And number two,
what this, what this, uh,
American Jobs Project and Plan does is invest in electrification of
the highway system so that people will be able to travel from place to place and
not worry,
not have range anxiety about plugging in their vehicles so that we'll have
500,000 new charging stations. And third,
it also provides an incentive for people to buy electric vehicles
upfront. So when you go to the showroom,
you'll get immediately a tax credit that will take down the cost to make it on
par with an internal combustion engine, a regular car.
So three big factors to be able to ensure that we electrify our
transportation system.
And in addition to electrifying transportation,
I know there's been a lot of plans and talk around windmills.
I know that in the waters off of New York and New Jersey,
there've been promises of tens of thousands of jobs being created in the next 10
years with this development.
But there has also been opposition from other projects specifically from fishing
corporations saying that this will disrupt their industry.
Have you studied the impact of this,
these types of projects and what's your message to the fishing industry and
other concerned industries?
Yeah, I mean we know every time there is a major construction project,
there are, you know, there,
there could be concerns by those who are operating in that geographic space.
We totally get that and you have to work with the fishing industry,
but you know what? The DOE,
the Department of Energy is the solutions department.
And so we are focused not just on study,
but on deploying technology that allows for more flexibility. So for example,
there's new technology that will allow wind turbines to be placed on
floating platforms that can move,
that can move to take advantage of the greatest amount of wind,
but also move for commercial purposes as well.
We also have to do planning upfront with the industries who are effective,
like in commercial fishing to make sure that their fishing lanes are still
available,
even though you might have these wind turbines off the Atlantic coast.
And can I say, super exciting. Cause we announced last week that we had, uh,
a goal now of 30 gigawatts of clean energy of wind
energy from these large scale turbines off the Atlantic coast,
that back on the Atlantic backbone for putting clean energy on the,
on the grid is huge.
So it's a super exciting first step to be able to see what we want to see,
which is 100% clean electricity.
And when do you hope to reach that goal that you just referenced?
The 30 gigawatts was over the, by 2030. Um, but we want,
this is just this Atlantic backbone. You've got a whole Pacific Ocean.
You got a whole Gulf Coast.
You even have the great lakes that all have really great wind resources that are
offshore, not to mention, of course, the onshore wind,
our partners in this announcement were the department of interior who
licenses all of the ability to be able to put
turbines off shore and on public lands. And so we're,
we're excited about how they're accelerating their permitting to be able to
allow the deployment of this clean energy technology.
And you just mentioned lakes. So I want to pivot a bit to pipelines.
I know that president Biden revoked permits for the Keystone XL pipeline,
but there's another line from Canada that has been generating some buzz and
controversy, uh, in your state, Michigan, uh, where you were former governor,
Governor Whitmer is opposed to Line 5.
It runs and comes from Canada and it's really caused a showdown of sorts.
Whitmer gave the Canadian company until May to shut it down,
but the CEO maintains that it actually fits within president Biden's and your
infrastructure plan. Where do you stand on this?
Yeah, I mean, this is, uh, an issue that's now in the courts.
I can certainly understand. I really applaud, uh,
Governor Whitmer's leadership on this.
The straits of Mackinac through which this line goes are,
is a beautiful and super sensitive area.
And the company that has, uh, would operate the pipeline has, um, you know,
had some history in Michigan in particular of spillage. So, you know,
you have to take that into account. So I certainly understand that. Ultimately,
though, this is now in court.
So I'm going to have to let that decision play itself out.
And it's interesting that you said your department is the solutions department.
So I want to talk obstacles now you've said we shouldn't be buying solar panels
from countries like China that have human rights violations.
We should be making them here.
What to you are the biggest obstacles to green development in the United States?
Well, one is demand.
We want to make sure that we are buying American.
And we have sort of as a nation, and this is true of other nations too,
but it's been particular true in the U.S.,
we have bowed to the altar of low costs,
and that means that on products we have just, you know,
I say this as the former governor of a manufacturing state,
we have just stood idly by and watch these, uh,
manufacturing opportunities go to other places. And we have said, Oh,
that's fine. Well,
this administration doesn't believe that this administration believes that we
should have a manufacturing backbone,
that we should be manufacturing the means to our own energy security.
And obviously solar panels is one of them. There's another example. No,
we don't have any company in the United States that manufacturers transmission
grid, equipment transformers. Why?
Because we have allowed for it to just go to the cheapest cost place. Now,
if we want to have energy security,
if we want to prevent hacking on our electric grid,
we should be making sure that we are building the means to that security.
So it creates jobs. It creates an energy opportunity.
It's not just solar panels, it's wind turbines,
it's the equipment that we would attach to coal and power plant
community, um, fired up, uh,
coal-fired power plants to reduce carbon emissions, all of that,
we should be building in our country.
And the final thing I'll say about this play is that w you know,
the U S government has purchasing power. And so creating demand by saying,
we are going to spend the $500 billion that we spend every single
year on purchasing goods and services to purchase American-made goods and
services, which will generate demand and therefore supply, uh,
in the United States. And that means jobs.
And I'd be remiss not to end by asking, uh,
about disparities when it comes to these developments.
I know earlier in the season,
we saw the transmission grid impacted due to winter storms and how,
uh, communities of color often were the most affected.
So how are you going to make sure this infrastructure,
bill and proposals don't automatically go to the wealthiest of communities?
One of the most,
if not the most important part of the American jobs plan is ensuring that 40%
of the benefits of these investments go to communities that have been left
behind.
Communities that have been unseen are communities that are living in the shadows
of smokestacks, where children have to use inhalers because they have asthma.
Or communities that, um, where they've seen the market move away,
like coal communities,
where they have been building up this country's energy sources for years.
And now they're told they're not wanted anymore.
So those kinds of communities where, where they feel unseen,
those are going to be the beneficiaries of the 40% of the investments.
Very intentionally directed from the American Jobs Project.
We want to see these projects in those communities so people can get those jobs.
Well, Secretary Granholm,
thank you so much for your time and your insights today.
You bet. Thank you so much for having me on Zinhle.
It's been great to be with you.
Yes. And thanks to everyone for watching. This has been KnowThis Live,
I'm Zinhle Essamuah.