The Department of Energy (DOE) reported a stellar performance in the first year of the Biden-Harris administration.

The federal agency invested over $2.5 billion through competitive grants for the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of clean technologies, according to a Jan. 20 DOE press release. 

“@ENERGY had a standout 2021!" posted the U.S Department of Energy via Twitter. "We’ve invested billions in new technologies, jumpstarted ambitious goals to continue to drop clean energy prices, and reintroduced DOE to the world with global climate conversations."

Thanks to a $62 billion cash infusion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal—the largest infusion the Department has seen ever since its foundation—the DOE launched the Building a Better Grid initiative to catalyze the nationwide development of a high-capacity and upgraded version of electric transmission. President Joe Biden had set the goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035.  

In other accomplishments, The DOE helped launch the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities, which in turn has identified 25 priority communities for job creation and new investment. It also identified that these communities could access nearly $38 million in existing federal resources.

The agency also launched the Energy Earthshots Initiative to dramatically cut costs for lynchpin clean energy technologies. Their aim is to speed up the progress to achieve 100% clean power and net-zero emissions, according to the DOE site. 

DOE's Oak Ridge National Lab launched the nation’s first exascale supercomputer, set to begin its modeling and simulation capabilities with select researchers this summer, according to the release.