Republicans Refuse to Move on from Fossil Fuels, Deny Rep. Grijalva’s “Solar for Schools” Amendment

WASHINGTON - Today, Representative Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07) submitted an amendment to the appropriations funding bill, H.R. 8997 - Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The amendment, if adopted, would take $200 million in funding from the fossil fuel energy account and transfer it to the renewable energy account for the Renew America's Schools Program, which provides for the installation of solar power for US schools to reduce energy costs and provide an uninterrupted learning environment to students.

The amendment was denied by the House Republican Rules Committee.

"As climate change-induced extreme weather events cause more frequent power outages and threaten our aging grid infrastructure, we must act now to provide a stable power source to protect the well-being of students and their learning environments. My amendment is a major downpayment to deploy solar power for schools across our nation so they can reduce high energy costs, while simultaneously securing a source of power and transitioning away from dirty fossil fuels," said Rep. Grijalva. "We've already seen school districts use savings from renewable energy for essentials like teacher pay which makes this proposal a win-win for our classrooms and our clean energy future."

"America should be leading the world on solutions to our energy crisis, but instead Republicans are determined to spend hundreds of millions to keep our country reliant on expensive, dwindling, and dirty fossil fuels, all while lining the industry's pockets. That is the opposite of progress. I urge them to support clean energy and resilience for our school systems and reject millions of dollars in fossil fuel industry handouts that current and future Americans simply cannot afford."

Solar and Renew America's Schools facts:

• K-12 schools spend more than $8 billion on energy annually, making energy the second­ highest operating expenditure for schools after personnel costs
• Tucson Unified School district will be saving $43 million over 20 years from solar array structures at 80 sites in the district.
• Nearly one in 10 K-12 public schools has adopted solar technology with solar energy being utilized by 19% of public school districts.
• Educational institutions account for approximately 11 percent of energy consumption by U.S. buildings and 4 percent of the nation's carbon emissions in 2019.
• As of January 26, 2023, the Department of Energy had received 1,053 applications from 48 states for one Renew America's Schools Funding Opportunity Announcement for the program, which was 70 times more than the $80 million allocation.

Schools can develop a baseline energy needs assessment for a school facility here. These resources can help schools calculate the expected energy efficiency, energy savings, and safety benefits of different energy improvements, i.e., lighting upgrades, HVAC improvements, etc.

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