Icon showing solar panels and wind turbines100% Carbon Pollution-Free Electricity on a Net Annual Basis by 2030, Including 50% on a 24/7 Basis

President Biden's Executive Order 14057 on catalyzing American clean energy industries and jobs through Federal sustainability and accompanying Federal Sustainability Plan (collectively referred to as "The Federal Sustainability Plan") outlines an ambitious path to power Federal facilities with 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE), including 50 percent on a 24-hour-a-day 7-days-a-week (24/7) basis. This plan will help accelerate a rapidly changing clean electricity sector and further increase well-paying union jobs. It adds Federal leadership to CFE commitments being made by public, private, and non-profit leaders across America and around the world. The Sustainability Plan's elements show how the U.S. Government can use the power of Federal procurement to create a more resilient, modern, and climate-ready electricity sector.

Key Actions

+ Aggregate carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE) purchases across regions and agencies.

As part of a whole-of-government approach, agencies at the forefront of electricity procurement, including the Department of Defense (DOD) and General Services Administration (GSA), will help lead development and execution of innovative procurement strategies, in coordination with other agencies and consistent with applicable law, that leverage the size of the Federal Government's electricity consumption, unlock economies of scale, promote equity, and achieve cost-savings for taxpayers. The strategy will include ways that federally led efforts to expand CFE can benefit overburdened, underserved communities. The Federal Government will work with regulators, State and local energy policy officials, utilities, developers, technology firms, financiers, and other clean electricity buyers and use a range of strategies to achieve CFE goals, such as:

  • Buy directly from utilities. Work with utility service providers to negotiate supply contracts that include CFE and energy storage for multiple Federal agencies in a service territory.
  • Enter into power purchase agreements. Use physical power purchase agreements (PPAs) that provide for CFE and energy storage to promote 24/7 energy load profile matching, and pursue virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) to scale procurements to match aggregated purchasing of CFE and energy storage.
  • Develop onsite generation by leveraging Federal real property assets. Leverage opportunities to use Federal real property assets for development of new CFE generation and energy storage.
+ Seek ways to pilot and accelerate promising CFE sources.

Additionally, the Federal Government will seek ways to pilot and accelerate promising CFE sources such as green hydrogen, modular and advanced nuclear reactors, and other innovative approaches.

  • In February 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced a Request for Information (RFI) to gather market information and capabilities in supplying carbon pollution-free electricity to the federal government. This is an important step forward in transforming how the U.S. government buys and manages electricity, and it puts the nation on a path to achieving a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035. Read the press release.
  • In September 2022, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) to learn more about the availability of domestically manufactured solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and components. GSA seeks to better understand how it can encourage domestic manufacturing of PV panels through federal procurement as part of a comprehensive policy to support both decarbonizing the U.S. electric grid and securing a domestic clean energy supply chain. Read the press release.
  • In September, 2022, DoD's Department of the Air Force released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Eielson Air Force Base Micro-Reactor Pilot Program, which is an important first step toward developing the next-generation energy technology needed for energy resilience at Eielson Air Force Base and to inform future initiatives to power national security infrastructure. Read the press release.
+ Develop public and private sector partnerships.

The Federal Government will develop ways to increase its impact by working with non-Federal partners (e.g., States, Tribes, municipalities, electric co-operatives, consumers, and the private sector). The Federal Government will explore ways to use its supply chain to accelerate progress towards a cleaner grid more broadly.

  • In November, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the Federal Government’s first Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a utility to work toward sourcing 100% CFE, at least 50 percent of which would be provided on a 24/7 basis. Read the press release.
+ Establish the 100 Percent 24/7 Carbon Pollution-Free Electricity Federal Leaders Working Group to drive strategy and implementation.

Transitioning to CFE by 2030 and achieving agency targets will require coordination across agencies to streamline energy purchasing, and consolidate and aggregate procurement. The Working Group will also evaluate progress on equity. The Working Group will provide semiannual reports to the National Climate Task Force on actions, findings, and progress toward governmentwide goals.

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