Congressional Policy Priorities to Decarbonize U.S. Industry and Enhance Competitiveness

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) made some significant investments in industrial decarbonization, particularly for clean hydrogen and carbon capture, storage, and utilization. However, analyses show that the IRA does not adequately incentivize the full range of renewable thermal solutions. To accelerate the decarbonization of thermal energy for industry and buildings, the RTC […]

Congressional Briefing: The Renewable Thermal Vision

On Wednesday, July 26th from 12 – 1 pm, the RTC held an in-person briefing for Congress presenting the findings of the Renewable Thermal Vision Report and its implications for policymakers. The report examines priority industrial sectors in the United States and analyzes their thermal energy use by industrial process, temperature (high, medium, and low), and geography. Incorporating post-Inflation Reduction […]

RTC Members and Sponsors Receive DOE Funding to Develop Heat Pump, Heat Recovery, and Low-Carbon Fuel Technology

By Oren Lieber-Kotz The Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) congratulates our members and sponsors that were recently awarded funding for industrial decarbonization projects by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO). The announcement listed RTC members PepsiCo and the University of California, and RTC sponsors SoCalGas and Southern Company, among the recipients of awards totaling $135 […]

Recording: Section 48C / Pilot Projects Workshop

On May 1 and 3, the RTC hosted identical two-hour workshops to support RTC Members’ industrial decarbonization pilot projects, especially those which could receive funding from Section 48C federal tax credits. Each workshop featured: Detailed information on Section 48C project requirements, presented by K&L Gates’ Mary Baker. Insights on how to access funding, including: A deep dive into how to […]

RTC Policy Finder

The RTC Policy Finder assists companies and institutions in navigating the policy resources which can help them deploy renewable thermal technologies. This database collects policies from all 50 states plus DC, allowing users to search for policies by geography, policy type, and the technologies supported. By mapping existing policy resources for thermal decarbonization, this tool aims to both catalyze projects […]

RTC Comments to Treasury on IRA Implementation

Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022, the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) policy team has submitted several comments to the U.S. Department of Treasury regarding the Act’s implementation. The issues on which the RTC has commented include: The qualification of facility retrofits for the Sec. 48C Advanced Energy Manufacturing Credit The treatment of thermal storage and […]

White House Announcement Reinforces the Importance of RTC’s Research and Heat Pumps 

Contact: Blaine Collison, RTC Executive Director, 202-669-5950, blaine@renewablethermal.org Arlington, VA – The Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) applauds today’s announcement by the White House announcing its intent to use $250 million to enable more heat pump manufacturing in America, using Defense Production Act authorities and funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. The action by the White House aligns with and starts […]

Webinar: RTC’s July 29th, 2022 Briefing to the House Manufacturing Caucus

The RTC hosted a briefing with the House Manufacturing Caucus on July 26, 2022. The Caucus is a bipartisan educational group of about 100 members of Congress and their staffs focused on issues that are relevant to the advancement of American manufacturing. RTC’s briefing provided an overview of leading renewable thermal technologies for industrial heating and cooling, common deployment barriers, […]

RTC Responds to the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) Draft 2022 Scoping Plan Update

On June 23, the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) submitted comments to the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) Draft 2022 Scoping Plan Update. The RTC applauds California’s continued commitment to emissions reductions across all sectors and agrees that electrification, biogas and biomethane, green hydrogen, and solar thermal technologies all offer opportunities to decarbonize the industrial and buildings sectors. In addition to […]

RTC Policy Roundtable: Tax Policy for Renewable Thermal Solutions

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) held a roundtable discussion on a tax policy proposal aimed at accelerating deployment of renewable fuels and technologies to meet the thermal energy needs of the manufacturing and buildings sectors. The proposal, which was finalized in fall of 2021, would make a range of renewable thermal technologies eligible for a 30% investment tax credit (ITC), similar to tax credits that are already available for renewable electricity technologies. The roundtable discussion included RTC members and sponsors as well as a select group of external organizations ranging from tax experts, to trade associations for specific fuels and technologies, to think tanks and policy advocacy organizations that are engaged on issues similar issues to RTC’s focus. As the RTC’s tax policy proposal was developed as a high-level framework, the roundtable aimed to gather input to further sharpen and refine the proposal, gather views on the evidence base and groundwork needed to advocate for the tax policy proposal, and to build a shared foundation among key stakeholders on the prospects and design of tax policy to advance renewable thermal technologies and fuels.