The Biden administration invoked “wartime emergency powers” to funnel $169 million taxpayer dollars to accelerate electric heat pump manufacturing at 15 sites across the country.

In a joint statement with the White House, the Department of Energy (DOE) said “the selected projects are the first awards from DOE’s authorization, invoked by President Biden using emergency authority on the basis of climate change, to utilize the Defense Production Act (DPA) to increase domestic production of five key clean energy technologies, including electric heat pumps.”

The Biden administration’s move is the latest attempt to phase out gas-powered residential furnaces and force Americans to use electric heat pumps.

“Covered under President Biden’s Justice40 initiative and funded by the Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in history—selected projects will help build a clean energy economy, create good-paying manufacturing jobs, improve air quality, help families and businesses save money on their energy bills, and bolster national security by reducing energy resilience on foreign adversaries,” the joint statement read.

“Getting more American-made electric heat pumps on the market will help families and businesses save money with efficient heating and cooling technology,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm.

“Today’s Defense Production Act funds for heat pump manufacturing show that President Biden is treating climate change as the crisis it is,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to Joe Biden for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation.

“The President is using his wartime emergency powers under the Defense Production Act to turbocharge U.S. manufacturing of clean technologies and strengthen our energy security,” Ali Zaidi, Biden’s National Climate Advisor, commented.

“This acceleration of electric heat pump manufacturing also shows how President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is advancing American innovation, cutting energy bills for hardworking families, and tackling the climate crisis – a win, win for our economy, our workers, and our planet,” he added.

Many Americans don’t want electric heat pumps, but the Biden administration wants to seize control of the market to push the climate change agenda.

From the Department of Energy:

Heating and cooling buildings, homes, offices, schools, hospitals, military bases, and other critical facilities drive more than 35% of all U.S. energy consumption. Heat pumps efficiently provides comfortable temperatures for heating and cooling homes and businesses in all climates, especially when homes are well insulated, and can also provide more efficient water heating. When compared to gas boilers, heat pumps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50%. Electric heat pumps enable more American families and businesses to benefit from lower energy costs through American-made clean energy technologies, while supporting good jobs, reinvigorating American manufacturing, improving public health, tackling climate change. Additional savings are currently available through IRA Energy Efficient Tax Credit 25C tax credits to help consumers afford heat pumps. To learn more about savings and how heat pumps work, visit Pump Up Your Savings with Heat Pumps.

Heat pumps are critical to reducing the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels, bolstering national security, and boosting energy independence to strengthen national defense, lowering consumer energy costs, improving energy efficiency, and mitigating the climate crisis. This portfolio of selections will boost manufacturing of electric heat pump (air-to-air, geothermal, and air-to-water) and key components (compressors and refrigerants) This portfolio will lead to manufacturing in 13 states. The lead organizations are listed below along with their proposed project locations and technologies.

“This is absolutely shameful corporate welfare. But we’re to believe that, because it’s for the sake of climate change, all is well. I think that’s ridiculous,” Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“Of all the Biden administration’s claimed climate emergency declarations, this may be the craziest of them all. There is no shortage of heat pumps — it’s just that not every homeowner wants them. Consumers ought to decide for themselves. The government has no role in tilting the balance in favor of one energy source over another. That’s clearly what’s happening here,” he added.

Fox News reports:

The action Friday comes less than two months after the DOE issued new regulations targeting traditional home gas-powered furnaces as part of its climate agenda and broad effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

DOE’s finalized regulations, which are slated to go into effect in 2028, specifically require furnaces to achieve an annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) of 95%, meaning manufacturers would only be allowed to sell furnaces that convert at least 95% of fuel into heat within six years. The current market standard AFUE for a residential furnace is 80%.

Because of the stringent AFUE requirements, the regulations would largely take non-condensing gas furnaces — which are generally less efficient, but cheaper — off the market. But consumers who replace their non-condensing furnace with a condensing furnace after the rule is implemented face hefty installation costs.

“Energy security is a top priority for AGA,” American Gas Association President and CEO Karen Harbert told Fox News Digital on Friday. “We are deeply disappointed to see the Defense Production Act, which is intended as a vital tool for advancing national security against serious outside threats, being used as an instrument to advance a policy agenda contradictory to our nation’s strong energy position.”

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