Conference Presentation, Panel
Show Time for Infrastructure: Accelerating Shovel Worthy Infrastructure Projects
- The U.S. targets a 50% to 52% emissions reduction below 2005 levels by 2030 and a net zero economy by 2050, requiring the power sector to cut emissions by 80% below 2005 levels within the next decade.
- Achieving climate goals necessitates a major build-out of renewable power, transmission lines, and EV infrastructure, with the power sector responsible for approximately 40% of required emission reductions in the next ten years.
- Long-term decarbonization relies on electrifying on-road fleets, reducing methane leaks from oil and gas distribution, and deploying carbon capture technology for industrial facilities, alongside the construction of significant new infrastructure including purpose-built pipelines.
- Natural climate solutions, such as reforestation and wetland restoration, could mitigate 25% to 33% of overall emissions and are projected to create jobs in rural areas, though the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law alone is insufficient to bridge a $10 trillion funding gap without the Build Back Better Act.
- The administration aims to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, a target requiring immediate permitting, financing, and initiation, with the industry expected to generate nearly 80,000 jobs by that year.
- Infrastructure investment strategies include expanding the TIFIA credit program and the Department of Energy loan authority for critical minerals and zero-carbon manufacturing, while a 50% to 52% emissions target is viewed as unachievable without the climate provisions of the Build Back Better Act.
- Private capital is expected to be critical for financing, requiring the adoption of credible data standards to manage risk, with projects needing to be designed as bankable to attract investment.
- Existing infrastructure consists of 2.5 million miles of natural gas pipelines, 5,000 miles of CO2 pipelines, and effectively zero hydrogen pipelines, with hydrogen requiring extensive new pipeline networks to avoid greenhouse gas leaks.
- The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council is expected to improve predictability for large infrastructure projects, with the pace of permitting having improved significantly in the past two years through integrated federal agency approaches.
- The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is projected to add an average of 1.5 million jobs annually over the coming decade, while hydrogen produced via renewable energy is identified as essential for industrial heat applications where electrification is not feasible.