Senator Hassan, Energy Secretary Granholm, and Representative Pappas Highlight Importance of Clean Energy Investments in Portsmouth & Manchester

Senator Hassan, Representative Pappas, and Secretary Granholm in Portsmouth with roundtable participants (left); Senator Hassan and Secretary Granholm at Manchester’s new solar array development (right).

PORTSMOUTH – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, and U.S. Representative Chris Pappas held events in Portsmouth and Manchester today to highlight the importance of clean energy investments, including offshore wind and solar power, as well as the economic and workforce development opportunities associated with these clean energy investments.

First, Senator Hassan, Secretary Granholm, and Representative Pappas held an outdoor roundtable in Portsmouth with business and education leaders to discuss the benefits of investing in offshore wind for New Hampshire. Following that roundtable, Senator Hassan joined Secretary Granholm, Representative Pappas, and city leaders in Manchester to view the ongoing construction of the city’s new solar project at the repurposed site of a former landfill, and discussed how new renewable energy and energy efficiency measures will help bring down utility costs for Manchester and reduce carbon emissions.

“It was great to have Secretary Granholm here in New Hampshire to see firsthand the importance of investing in clean energy. The bipartisan infrastructure package recognizes that climate change is an existential threat to our economy, environment, natural resources, and way of life,” said Senator Hassan. “This package critically invests in clean energy and works to modernize our electric grid, which will help us generate more renewable energy.”

“We are at a crisis moment in terms of our changing climate and the need to take serious action to reduce carbon emissions. That is why it is vital that we make needed investments in clean energy infrastructure that will create economic opportunity and jobs while addressing climate change,” said Representative Pappas. “I’m honored to serve on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee where we are working to support resilient infrastructure and zero-emission transportation. We must also focus on investments in our grid and the development of domestic clean energy. This is a pivotal moment for our planet. What we do in the next few years will determine the lives and livelihoods of generations of people, and we have to act with the urgency and foresight our communities and these future generations deserves.”

The bipartisan infrastructure package that the Senate passed and that Senator Hassan helped negotiate includes major investments in clean energy, including $73 billion for clean energy transmission, as well as funding for solar energy research and development programs. Additionally, Senators Hassan and Susan Collins successfully worked to pass into law their bipartisan bill that expands the Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program to include supporting the development of battery storage technology, which will help increase the use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

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