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Direct Current is a podcast about energy -- the kind that lights our homes, powers our lives and shapes our world. From the U.S. Department of Energy's digital team in Washington, D.C., Direct Current brings you fresh, insightful stories of how we generate and use electricity, what that means for the planet, and the cutting-edge science that's driving a global energy revolution.
(UPBEAT ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS)
SARAH HARMAN
On behalf of the American people, DOE has spent 2023 compiling an impressive list of accomplishments from shaping the future of transportation to creating 1000s of good paying clean energy jobs. I'm your host, Sarah Harman and you're listening to direct current, the Department of Energy's podcast on today's episode to discuss those great accomplishments. We have a very special guest joining us. None other than US Department of Energy Secretary herself. Jennifer Granholm. Welcome, Madam Secretary. We're excited to have you join us here today.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
So glad to be on, I'm big fan. So, I'm glad to be participating.
SARAH HARMAN
I can't think of a better person to do so. Also joining us today for the trip down memory lane will be Charisma Troiano.
CHARISMA TROIANO
Hi, Sarah.
SARAH HARMAN
Welcome Charisma. Shall we dive into it then?
CHARISMA TROIANO
Let's go!
SARAH HARMAN
Alright. Let's go!
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Let's do it.
(DIRECT CURRENT INTRO PLAYS)
CHARISMA TROIANO
Alright Secretary, it is so good to be here with you. And as we look back on 2023, which has been quite the year for DOE, for the Biden Harris administration. I'm really interested to know when you're sitting back and you're with your family, and you're thinking back on 2023. What are you reflecting on as some of the accomplishments that you've been able to do? I mean, that's impressive.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Oh my gosh, I mean Charisma as you know, so much has happened this past year since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Which we call the President's Invest in America agenda. The most consequential energy laws that have ever been passed in this country, arguably the biggest in the globe, and we're seeing the results happen. So, for example, the Energy Information Administration, just came out with their short term energy outlook. And in that, they are projecting that in 2023, we're going to have installed 23 gigawatts of solar. That's a lot! I mean, just for our listeners, to put that in perspective, the Hoover Dam is two gigawatts of power. And just in solar, in 2023. We have seen the deployment of 23 gigawatts that's, you know, I mean, that's a significant number. It's over 10 Hoover Dams, but then they're projecting that next year, it's going to be another 37 gigawatts. So 60 gigawatts of solar alone! Just in America, because of this agenda, this Inflation Reduction Act, the incentives for deployment are irresistible. That's that would mean in the past, in the two years of 2023, and 24, we would have ended up building the equivalent of 30 Hoover Dams. Amazing. And that's just in solar.
CHARISMA TROIANO
Wow. And now, can you imagine when we add in wind, and everything else.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
And battery storage. You were telling me today that there was another seven gigawatts of battery storage that has rolled out this past year. I mean, it is really astonishing to see and people should feel really great about it. I mean, as we consider, for example, just coming off of the conference of the parties of COP, and the commitment that countries are making to tripling the amount of renewable energy. I mean, we are we are on track to be doing that. And people should feel very proud of that. I know, I am proud of it.
CHARISMA TROIANO
What and you know, just speaking on clean energy, as we focus in a little bit on that, you know, for most American households, and I know for myself when I'm looking at my energy bill, that is one of the most essential line items for a household budget. So, I know that you have visited quite a few homes, through quite a few states throughout the country this year, where folks have really taken steps to weatherize their homes. And so, I'd love to hear a little bit from you about what it's been like in those living room conversations. What have you heard about the benefits that folks are seeing?
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
It's so great. I mean, I know you've been with me in a number of these places. And first of all, just to let people know that under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, there was a huge increase in the amount of weatherization dollars going out to the States. In fact, it's about a 10 times increase, right 10 fold increase. So that means the states are able to do a lot more homes, and these are for folks who are income constrained. So, a lot of times when they're doing their monthly budgets, and they've got to really pay a lot more for energy that obviously takes away from other things. So, when I think about this, visiting homes like the Tillman's in Georgia, and they were talking about how they have cut by weatherizing alone, they've cut in half their energy bill their electricity bill, their gas bill, their water bill. In fact, the Tillman's alone or savings $3,000 a year. It's huge for people who are income constrained. So, and that's just one example, there's 1000s of these stories across the country. And this all gets to the point of how strategies to install energy efficiency are all about bringing down the cost for real people. But Biden administration is totally focused on reducing people's costs. As I'm speaking to you now, I think the average price of gas is down to $3.10? Three dollars and ten cents, which is amazing. And a lot of that has to do with obviously, what's going on in the market. But a lot of it has to do with the fact that, you know, the Biden administration has really been focused both on on production and on making sure that people's that our interventions in the global market can keep prices down. But it's also true on energy efficiency. And part of that is also true on installing, for example, solar panels, you know, the Inflation Reduction Act gives you a 30% reduction on your installation of solar panels, solar is, in most places, the cheapest form of energy, again, bringing down the price for real people. So between weatherization, energy generation, clean energy generation, and the tax credits associated with that, all of that is about reducing people's costs.
CHARISMA TROIANO
That's fascinating. And I want to just really quickly switch gears and talk a bit about manufacturing. And I know that from day one, this President, this administration, has basically said that we are going to be making products stamped here in America, made in America. And when I hear that, I hear energy independence. And so, I'd love to hear a little bit from you about what are these manufacturing progress points that we're seeing? And how is the President investing in America agenda, really helping drive that forward?
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Oh my gosh, I mean Charisma, because I'm the former governor of Michigan, and I was governor during the great recession. And we saw, like so many states, so many manufacturing, companies go overseas, where they could labor arbitrage, essentially, and pay the cheapest wages. And other countries were in the game. They were luring our businesses overseas. And so, we saw all of this migration of manufacturing, which makes you a weaker nation. And this President came in and he said, no, we are not going to sit idly by and watch other countries, poach our industries. In fact, we're going to become stronger as a nation, because we are going to manufacture products and have the whole supply chain in the United States. So therefore, the passage of this invest in America agenda has created such amazing incentives for the building of products for manufacturing and for supply chains. In the United States. We are seeing this reindustrialization of America products stamped Made in America used here exported elsewhere, and with American workers. And so, it's you're seeing this happen in pockets all across the country, we now have I think, as of last month, 340 companies announcing in cities across the country, that they are building a batteries and electric vehicles for the transportation sector, that's just in that component alone. We're seeing it in wind, we're seeing, we're seeing so much investment in the United States, that's true with chips, as well for semiconductors. So, it's very exciting for me, I'm just so, so happy that there is an industrial strategy now that we're not standing by and just letting you know, the global free market, take away our jobs, because that's not happening anymore. Super exciting. Gotta love a strategy. Gotta love that strategy.
CHARISMA TROIANO
And so, I want to kind of-
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Can I just jump back on that for just one second on the strategy. You know, we've got a lot of tools inside of the department to build out those supply chains. It's not just the tax credits. But it's also for example, we have the loan programs office, an office that got plussed up in this Invest in America agenda. And they are identifying along with we have an office called the Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains office. Those two are identifying where are the gaps in the supply chain? So, you hear from a lot of people, well, all these electric vehicles and the batteries, they're all made in Asia, why would we be incentivizing stuff that's made in Asia? Well, the whole point is, we're incentivizing all of that to come here. So, a battery, is made out of an anode, a cathode, separator, material and electrolyte, all of that has largely been in China. But we now have an incentive to do the whole supply chain here. And that includes the critical materials that are found inside of that battery. So, the loan programs office, the our battery grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, are identifying those gaps, and some and rewarding companies who decide that they're going to locate and manufacture in the United States.
CHARISMA TROIANO
Wow.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
It's great, right?
CHARISMA TROIANO
It really is, I feel like I'm gonna say impressive so many times during this recording.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
And you work here and it's still impressive every day.
CHARISMA TROIANO
I'm blown away all the time. And so, I wanted to kind of look back a little bit on some of the communities because you were just kind of noting how many facilities have kind of cropped up since this President took office because of the strategy because of this agenda. And I know that you have been to some pretty unique places, places like we're in West Virginia, for example, these energy communities, how is the Biden Harris administration, that's investing in America agenda, really helping those communities that have powered us for generations continue to do so.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Yeah and this is one of the key parts, the really smart parts of this strategy is to really identify communities that are that have been left behind that are in transition, that are fence line, communities, communities that I have been in the shadows of power plants and breathing in unhealthy air. So that whole spectrum of communities that are challenged, there's incentives to locate these next generation, clean energy manufacturing in those communities. So, you mentioned Weirton West Virginia, of course, that's an Appalachia. Weirton was a former steel town. And when the steel mill closed, and it was sort of a one company town, if you will, everybody worked at the steel mill, the steel mill closed, sidewalks rolled up, people moved away, young people moved away, the community felt like it was on its knees. And because of this Invest in America agenda, a company called form energy, which may is making big energy storage batteries, decided that they were going to locate on the site of the old steel company. And in fact, they are making batteries that are made out of iron, an iron process, on the place where steel was once made, hiring hundreds of local people. And at the groundbreaking it was so rewarding to go there. Because one of the city council members, his name was Tim Connell. And he told me he said, you know, my, I worked at the plant, the steel mill. And my father worked at the steel mill. And my grandfather worked at the steel mill, and I wanted my kids to work at the steel mill, and then the steel mill closed and, my kids moved away. And he said, this is like a phoenix, it is breathing life into a community that had been left behind. It's so great. I know, isn't it? I mean, it's just, that's what's happening all across the country. And so that's another reason why it's really I mean, we, we always are trying to recruit people to come work at the Department of Energy, who've got skills, etc. And, you know, we're because we're a government entity, we can't pay perhaps as much as the private sector. But what we say to people is, you will definitely gain psychic wealth, because if you want to change the world, if you want to change people's lives, who really are seeking some hope, you know, and save the planet. I mean, what an amazing place to be.
CHARISMA TROIANO
Yeah I mean, these stories, these communities, and the way in which they're going to be such a pivotal part in this clean energy transition. I mean, it's just really fascinating to see it happen in real life and basically in real time.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
And then and then I just have to say on one more little follow on Weirton. In November, we selected Boston Metal for a $50 million award to manufacture critical minerals for green clean power and fuel cells and grill green steel supply chain. So now are they they've got 700 people going to work at the forum, battery plant, and then they've got Boston Metal coming for another manufacturing plant. And now you can begin to see a cluster of clean industry forming in this community. So, this is, this is truly it is happening everywhere. I mean, Appalachia is one place. It is happening in the industrial Midwest, where you've seen a lot of factories closed down, all of these factories now being reconverted that may have produced internal combustion engines now being converted to produce batteries or electric vehicles and revitalizing communities. So, there's just an awful lot of hope. And it's not just batteries and it's not just electric vehicles. It is true with respect to saving, for example, nuclear plants and the hope that these small modular reactors bring. It's true with port communities that are now building up wind components and installing offshore wind. It is hydroelectric power. It is the full gamut of clean energy technologies, geothermal, in communities that have been pumping oil out of the ground and are experts in the subsurface. The fact that they can now pull up energy in the form of heat beneath our heat, our feet, for geothermal. That's very exciting. So, so much is happening. I'm sorry to go on and on but-
CHARISMA TROIANO
Oh no, not at all. I mean kinda can't stop when you're talking about it.
SARAH HARMAN
Especially when it comes to the Department of Energy, actually, something you just said, kind of touched my soul as somebody who's been here for 17 years. I am a mission driven person. And I say to everybody all the time, when they say, Why have you been at the department for so long? It's because I'm mission driven. And I don't think that any, obviously, I'm biased. But I don't think there's another agency out here that has a better mission than DOE. We have our fingers, every little pie, we do such exciting and compelling work. And it really does get you out of bed every day. And excited to go to work and do something really that's going to have a meaningful impact not just on the US, but worldwide. We change the world here.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Worldwide. Yeah. International component to what we're doing. You know, our mission right now is, obviously we haven't we have a nuclear safety mission and defense mission. But we also have this mission of getting 100%, clean electricity on our grid by 2035. And that mission, and then getting to net zero by 2050. And that is driving all of these investments and decisions. And honestly, can you get a better mission than saving the planet? Our shared home.
SARAH HARMAN
You cannot.
CHARISMA TROIANO
And speaking of getting to that 100% clean energy and talking back about the huge spectrum of clean energy technologies, one that may be a little new to listeners, and to many folks out there is hydrogen, and we are definitely going big on hydrogen here, through DLP. I know that many across the globe are also very interested in hydrogen as a clean energy fuel. Now, the investing in America agenda, however, is really making this a new US industry. So, explain a little bit about why hydrogen is such a vital tool.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Yeah, thank you for saying this for raising this question. Because really, this hydrogen economy, which is what is being created here, is going to benefit seven regions of the country that have been granted a billion dollars each, essentially to be hydrogen hubs. In partnership with the private sector, we always say that the clean energy economy is government enabled, but private sector led. And so, these are all public private partnerships in all of these regions across the country. And the reason why it's so important, hydrogen can do some of the stuff that we can't do otherwise, which is to decarbonize that hardest to decarbonize industries, cement, and steel, refining the other really hard stuff. And so, we want to make sure that that that part of our greenhouse gas emissions is addressed. And so, the hydrogen can come from a variety of fuels, if you will, natural gas is one of them. But natural gas still has greenhouse gas emissions. And there's also some challenges with leaking of methane. So, these hydrogen hubs, there's a couple of them that really focus on that focus on natural gas, but they have to remove the greenhouse gas emissions, they have to sequester their, their carbon pollution. And they have to make sure that methane is not leaking. And those are again, applied to industry that are used to hydrogen as a way of helping to fuel. So that's one number two, is hydrogen can come from renewable energy. And so, if you are, if you have hydrogen that's powered by the wind or by the sun, it basically uses a process called an electrolyzer to split water. The water is h2o, two elements, two atoms of hydrogen to one, you know, to one of oxygen. And so, you take the hydrogen atoms and you, you make hydrogen from them. And that is called green hydrogen, often zero carbon emitting hydrogen. And that's a very exciting process to be able to decarbonize using zero carbon energy. And then there's another one, which is you can also get hydrogen from nuclear power. And so that's also often referred to as pink hydrogen. But the bottom line is you can get hydrogen from a number of different fuels. And it's very important for decarbonizing, the heaviest and hardest to decarbonize areas.
CHARISMA TROIANO
And these hydrogen hubs that you were mentioning, they're also fueling jobs in these areas. And I want to talk about that a little bit. I want to talk about the way in which when you and when the President and when the Vice President think clean energy, they're thinking jobs. I know that under this president we have seen 1.5 million jobs created already in manufacturing, construction, engineering. So, what is the importance of really investing in clean energy jobs and kind of the spectrum once again, spectrum of what jobs could look like?
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Yeah, I mean, it's, in fact, this agenda, this clean this Investment in America agenda. It is, you know, it will go for a number of years. And it's expected to create about 9 million jobs across the nation. And I like to say it's all kinds of jobs for all kinds of people, three quarters of which do not require a college degree. These are, you know, we're going to need people to install the lines of transmission. We're going to need people to be able to build the wind turbines, we're going to need people to install those wind turbines, we're going to need people to build solar panels to install solar panels, we're going to need logistics, people, we're going to need nuclear engineers and nuclear operators, we're gonna, we're going to need same thing with building and maintaining dams. I mean, all the way through all of these different types of energy, tidal power, I mean wave power, you're going to, you're going to need people who have a whole array of skills, all that can be trained. It's all future facing jobs. These are jobs that are not going to go away because you the United States, as well as other countries have committed to net zero by 2050. And that means that that those products that get you to net zero, are going to be in demand globally. In fact, a Bloomberg has identified that by 2030, this is a $23 trillion, global industry. So, these products are going to be hugely in demand. There's technology components to it. So, it's it is truly all kinds of jobs for all kinds of people. And we want to make sure that they're good paying jobs, that they're sustainable jobs that you can raise a family on, the President is very supportive of them being union jobs. And so, and of course union jobs are secure and give you the benefits and all of that and have training and apprenticeships. In fact, for companies that do that are going to be building buildings, for example, a lot of construction jobs for new factories. Apprenticeships are rewarded in the Invest in America agenda. So, there's there's an awful lot from, from apprenticeships, to actual, you know, training, to jobs in the fields to jobs and factories to jobs building software to jobs designing, installing. It's a jobs paradise.
CHARISMA TROIANO
Jobs paradise. And speaking of apprenticeships, I know that, I think it was in June and it was over the summer that you and Mitch Landrieu we're in Tennessee, you visited an IBEW 175. I was in Chattanooga, that's where it was. And this was a 400 person apprenticeship program. I believe that they are representing about 3600 Electrical Workers in Southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia, as well as northeast Atlanta. Just reflect a little bit on what you saw when you were there.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Yeah, the IBEW the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are have been have a whole training program on installing electric vehicle charging stations, for example. And so, they were doing a lot of training on that. And the great thing is the, they are recruiting from high schools, from colleges from the community. And because it is an apprenticeship program, and you go in and you get paid to earn while you learn. And so, you can be installing charging stations and learning about how to do that and getting paid and getting that credential. So, this is not just and this is true with the linemen that are being trained by the IBEW in all across the country. It's true with those who are installing utility scale, in other words, large scale solar panels and solar systems. Those workers can come out earning six figures easily because of the incredible training and incredible apprenticeship program, and then they become linemen and they can get overtime. It's a, it's a really terrific opportunity and you don't have to have a college degree.
CHARISMA TROIANO
Look at that. This you were just mentioning that this apprenticeship program that you visited while in Tennessee with Mitch Landrieu was helping train folks up on EV chargers. And I want to talk about that because we have seen headlines where reporters and folks have this perception that we don't have enough chargers. We aren't moving fast enough and installing enough chargers. And if we want to get drivers to really adopt you know EVs, we need to do more to quell range anxiety now. This Investing in America agenda really is focused in on that. I mean, there is billions of dollars for building out a nationwide, EV charging network. So, can you explain a little bit about what we're doing what this administration is doing to make charging more available?
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Yeah I mean, the President's agenda, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law put seven and a half billion dollars out to be able to get to states to install electric vehicle charging stations in specific areas where the private sector has not already done so. So right now, there's about 165,000 chargers out across the country, through the private sector, but they're going to places often that already have electric vehicles. And so, what about those places that, your rural places, you know, places where people haven't picked up on electric vehicles, what about the ability to charge on long distance travel, etc. And so, the Biden administration wants to fill in those gaps. The goal is to get 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations out across the country. And the first tranche of money went to states to go along these transportation corridors. And the goal is to have one EV charger, with multiple ports every 50 miles along the main transportation corridors, they need to be app enabled super easy. So, you can see what's going on, whether it's full, whether somebody is already using it, and be able to go to it and access it quickly. The second tranche of money, is going to be going again, going through the states to go to areas that where EVs have not gone. So, in rural areas and urban areas and for multifamily dwellings, etc. So that wherever you go, it is not a question about whether you'll be able to find an electric vehicle charger, this addresses of course, what is known as range anxiety. And the hope is that we can take down the fear of buying an electric vehicle by having these huge chargers be ubiquitous across the country.
CHARISMA TROIANO
Yeah no, back again, to having a strategy. This is an industrial policy amazing. It truly is. And I think to what's really unique about this one is that this is the first time ever that America has put this concerted effort together to build out an EV charging networks, right.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
I mean, we did this for the US Highway System. This is 21st century infrastructure that is necessary and that the administration is taking this on.
CHARISMA TROIANO
We're seeing progress.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Yeah, we are.
CHARISMA TROIANO
A couple of openings recently.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
In fact, I think this week, Ohio had its first, it's first charging station that was funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, that groundbreaking. We're going to have a couple more here in the next couple of weeks. And I think in 2024, you're gonna see a huge amount of these ones that are funded by this effort, really popping up in states all across the country.
Strategy and policy in action. And so, you know, Secretary when we were talking a short while ago about energy communities, you were noting that the administration is really focusing in on making sure that those who have too often been left behind are actually part of and play a very pivotal role in this clean energy transition. Talk about how the Energy Department is connecting with these communities actually bringing them along, hadn't letting them have a seat at the table.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Yeah, there's a couple of things that I think are important here. One is there one of the opportunities, the grant opportunities, something called renew America's schools, and it is going to underserved schools to install energy efficient equipment and make sure that the kids in those schools have access to the same kinds of comfortable spaces that kids in wealthier areas do. And so, we were in Memphis, you're with me, right? It was so amazing. First of all, that day it was probably 100 degrees. And we go to the school, and they give us a tour. And one of the things that they wanted to do with their funding we gave them I think it was $9 million dollars that went to the school something like that. They wanted to replace their windows while they showed us the windows, the windows were like these plastic windows that were all you know, blackened out. Kids couldn't even see out of them. The lights in the school weren't working the HVAC system, importantly, was not working. I mean, what kids have to, it's hard enough to learn, but when you have to learn in an environment that is horrible physically. So, they were thrilled now this program was, this renew American schools where all the schools put in applications was way over subscribed, which tells you what the need is out there for school. So, in communities, whether it is places where people gather like that, or making sure that the communities themselves have a seat at the table in these big projects. So, for example, we are requiring for the first time ever, that those who are seeking grants from the Department of Energy enter in have a community benefits plan, meaning the community, they are they're engaging with them. Are they at the table? Do they have good, strong labor standards? Are people from the community going to be hired? Are they going to be trained, what is the, what is the benefit to the community that is going to be presented by this applicant. And, and 20% of the grant opportunities are going to be graded on the strength of these community benefit plans. So, it's a way, you know, we often talked about, we often talk about structural inequity. And it's a way for us to try to heal, to try to embed some structural equity. Especially for communities that really have been on the margins. And have, you know, have disproportionately borne the brunt of pollution to be actually at the at the front of the table, when it comes to the benefits of this clean energy economy.
CHARISMA TROIANO
Yeah and you make it a point to make sure to visit these communities. I know you recently came off of a tour, or a visit rather, to the river parishes in Louisiana, you were in Port Arthur, in Texas. And so, I think that's, that's another sort of very key example of showing action to strategy, action to plans of you know, it's not just lip service, you know, sitting there, making sure that they're these conversations. So, folks are really aware of the work that this agency is doing.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Yeah and I think it's, it's just so important to hear their lived experience of people who have been negatively impacted by the current energy system. So that we don't repeat the lessons of the past. And if you know, if you're living a stone's throw away from a, you know, an oil and gas storage tank, or you're living under a, you know, near a distillation unit or flared stacks, where, you know, particulate matter is raining down. You know, it's no wonder they call these areas cancer alley. And so, how can we help to ensure that those, you know, the particulates from diesel trucks, for example, if we electrify those trucks, those trucks are not only quieter, but they're not emitting those cancer causing particulates. And what a great thing that is for those communities to ensure that their air is cleaner through technology.
CHARISMA TROIANO
And you know, going back to lived experiences and hearing from people directly, I want to finally touch on your travel and your visits to Puerto Rico. You know, we're aware that or maybe folks aren't aware, but that Puerto Rico has a very ambitious, and I'd say also to realistic, plan to get to 40% renewable energy by 2025. And 100% renewable energy by 2050. So, talk about a little bit of the progress that you're seeing on the island, the work that DOE is doing through studies, as well as funding that was appropriated, to be able to assist more vulnerable populations in Puerto Rico be able to have access to things such as solar panels.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Yeah, I mean, let's just I mean, pulling back the reason why we're so focused on Puerto Rico is because it has been uniquely savaged by climate change. And by extreme weather events, Hurricane Maria, five years ago, earthquakes after that, Hurricane Fiona. They already had a terrible energy system. And it was only made that much worse by these hurricanes. And so, the President went down after Hurricane Fiona and said that the Department of Energy should help lead to get to their goals of as you say, 40% by 2025 of renewable energy, clean energy. So, it's very exciting, because we've gone to a number of communities, I think 20 communities on the on the island.
CHARISMA TROIANO
Just in 2023.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Yeah, just in 2023. Yeah, speaking to homeowners and community and community centers. We've heard from everybody from industry to folks who are really living on the margins, particularly communities, people with disabilities, who are the hardest hit during a hurricane. Because if you have a machine, if you have a machine-based disability, you need a breathing machine, etc. And you don't have electricity. And you're out, you know, I mean, some Hurricane Maria, people were out for months at a time, without power. I mean, it is it's a question of life and death.
CHARISMA TROIANO
Yeah, you went to hospitals and medical centers on the island, who either did not have access to solar and backup storage and those who did and kind of that stark difference.
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
And people died, people died. I mean, it's just you know, it is a question of life and death. I mean, for honestly, in many places in America, access to solar power is about cheaper power, and that is true. But in Puerto Rico, it is a question of life and death. It is a question of resilience, of being able to have access to your phone, you know, to charge etc. So anyway, the bottom line is, the Congress said that we would, passed an appropriation for a billion dollars to be applied to rooftop solar in Puerto Rico. And so, we are rolling out this program, it'll serve about 40,000 of the most vulnerable homes. At the same time, Puerto Rico is taking advantage of these tax credits as well. And so, there is when we were there last in November, the 100,000th home had installed solar and storage. Importantly, it's not just solar panels, and solar and storage, because of course, that creates the resiliency. So, we're very excited by what is happening, there's a lot of work still to do. But, you know, Puerto Rico, you know, 40, or plus percent of Puerto Ricans live in poverty. And it is a vulnerable Island and the ability to be able to provide this as a gift, you know, it really is, it's a gift to those of us who are able to help. It's really, an amazing place to be with amazing people love Puerto Rico, and hopefully will be significantly helpful in helping them reach their goal.
SARAH HARMAN
Well, that about wraps it up for this year. Before we finish this end of year episode of Direct Current, I’ll leave you with the last word Secretary Granholm. Do you have any last reflections on a very productive year at the Department or what you’re looking forward to in 2024?
SECRETARY GRANHOLM
Well, let me just say, you know, as I say, to our team all the time here, this is such an amazing time to be working at the Department of Energy with resources to be able to really help and impact the globe and this country and communities. And I would just want to put out a pitch. We are always looking to hire folks who are interested in the mission and who've got, you know, a variety of skills. We have a Clean Energy Corps. And we are encouraged people to go to our website, to be able to do that because this is a place to work that is second to none. And it's a privilege to be in this in this space at this time under this administration. And I welcome others.
SARAH HARMAN
I think we can all agree with that.
CHARISMA TROIANO
Absolutely.
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SARAH HARMAN
That's it for another episode of Direct Current. Thank you to our guests Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Charisma. If you want to learn more about DOE's accomplishments this year, check out our show notes. You can find those along with our other episodes at energy.gov/podcast. Direct Current and our episode artwork is produced by me, Sarah Harman. This episode was written by Charisma Troiano, Usha Sahay and Amanda Finney. Video and Sound Editing by Conor McCain. This is a production of the US Department of Energy's published from our nation’s capital in Washington DC. Thanks for listening!
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