Political Quotes

“My amendment to the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act will directly enhance reliable energy security when our communities are most vulnerable during natural disasters. My amendment simply adds energy storage as a form of energy that the Department of Energy should consider to improve emergency preparedness. {time} 1600 The bill in its current form only addresses the need to have resilient oil and natural gas infrastructure, which we certainly should all support. Energy storage encompasses technologies capable of storing previously generated electric energy and releasing that energy at a later time. It can include various types of batteries, capacitors, fuel cells, and more and has the potential to improve electric power grids, enable growth in renewable electricity generation, and provide alternatives to oil-based fuels in the Nation's transportation sector. Grid-level energy storage is on track to reach 40 gigawatts in capacity by 2022, a hundredfold increase from 2013. And natural disasters are becoming more and more common. Over the last 4 years, the Federal Government has spent more than $136 billion on relief for hurricanes, tornados, droughts, wildfires, and other weather-related events. We know that for every dollar we invest in preparedness and resiliency we save $4 in cleanup and restoration, not to mention the lives that would be saved--something we cannot put a dollar value on.…”