December 17, 2020
Granholm Poised to Put R&D at Center of Biden Climate Strategy
President-elect Joe Biden’s presumptive choice for energy secretary is expected to transform an obscure department agency that was on the Trump administration’s chopping block into a central part of the new administration’s climate strategy, renewable advocates in Congress and the energy industry say.
Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is especially well suited to make the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, known as ARPA-E, essential to Biden’s renewable energy agenda because of her support for revitalizing the auto industry following the 2008 economic crisis, said Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of the Energy Storage Association. Speakes-Backman sees ARPA-E playing a more critical role in the advancement of battery technology under Biden so that renewable energy can be used any time of day, regardless when the sun shines or the wind blows. ARPA-E’s mission “helps our whole industry,” she said.
