Don’t just give clean energy a pat on the head

Last week everyone on the East Coast was talking about smoke from the Canadian wildfires. It was a reminder of the fact that climate change is already having devasting impacts on communities. This is particularly true for the communities of color and environmental justice communities I represent, who disproportionately suffer the health impacts of environmental pollution and climate change.

While last week’s air quality crisis dominated headlines, poor air quality due to particulate matter pollution and greenhouse gas emissions has harmed communities for decades. Now that Congress has made historic investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act to accelerate our transition to clean energy, we cannot cave to voices that minimize the risks of the climate crisis or make bad faith arguments to continue profiting off fossil fuels.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) held a forum to examine the capacity market for PJM Interconnection, the electric grid operator for 13 mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia. This meeting included discussion on whether changes to the resource mix are needed to keep the lights on at this critical time.

The environmental, public health, and social justice case for accelerating our energy transition could not be more clear. As we move forward, FERC and PJM must present solutions that will not exacerbate climate disasters or harm vulnerable, historically marginalized communities.

Despite the urgent threat climate change and air pollution pose to communities, entrenched fossil fuel interests have pleaded for special treatment throughout recent congressional hearings and PJM planning meetings. PJM itself has amplified these concerns about a reliability crisis and an inadequate supply of energy in the coming decade.

During Winter Storm Elliot last year, PJM just barely avoided rolling blackouts after nearly 46 gigawatts of generation — enough to power California — failed to materialize even though the power plants were paid in advance. Ninety percent of those failures were from coal and gas plants while wind and demand response surpassed PJM’s predictions. 

The current reality of PJM’s resource mix is that fossil fuels under-deliver and clean energy resources meet or exceed expectations. FERC’s forum must focus on solutions that will incentivize a market shift to clean energy sources while shoring up the performance of fossil fuels as we continue this transition. This means protecting consumers and planning around today’s climate and energy realities. The fact that the conference was originally planned without any representatives from the clean energy community is deeply concerning. While this was resolved by FERC Chairman Willie Phillips last week after an outcry, clean energy deserves more than just a proverbial “pat on the head” from a policy standpoint.

In 2020, I was the chief patron of the Virginia Clean Economy Act. We passed this landmark legislation to get Virginia to 100 percent clean energy by 2045, and I am proud of the way we passed that legislation. I did my best to listen to all voices and incorporate their feedback as we moved toward the policy North Star. To me, this is the responsible way to govern — when all relevant parties have a seat at the table.  

As we continue to implement investments from the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act, we face an incredible opportunity to accelerate our transition to a clean-energy future. Thermal generation — a euphemism for fossil fuel — will be part of that discussion but, perhaps more importantly, regulators must internalize that clean energy will undoubtedly be part of the solution and therefore must always be part of the discussion. It would be an injustice to our future energy markets — and our future public health — to exclude their crucial perspective. The bottom line is that a more diverse power supply protects us in the next winter storm or heat wave and protects our planet for future generations.

Jennifer L. McClellan represents the 4th District of Virginia.