Shaheen Legislation Encourages Small Business Growth Through Energy Efficiency

(Washington, DC) – Today U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, introduced legislation to boost small business competitiveness through energy efficiency. The Small Business Energy Efficiency Act would help small businesses reduce energy costs by extending the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 504 lending program to businesses looking to invest in energy efficiency improvements.

“Energy costs can be a significant challenge for small businesses as they try and grow and create jobs,” Shaheen said. “This legislation would help small businesses overcome that hurdle by providing access to financing for energy efficiency improvements. This will create jobs, save small businesses money and reduce pollution. We’ve seen that there is overwhelming bipartisan support for energy efficiency legislation in Congress and I hope we can act quickly on this bill on behalf of small businesses and our environment.”

Shaheen is a leader in the Senate on energy efficiency policy. Earlier this year, the Senate passed and President Obama signed into law the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015, introduced by Shaheen and Senator Rob Portman (R-OH). Senators Shaheen and Portman have also introduce a larger energy efficiency bill, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act. This legislation uses a variety of low-cost tools to help energy users become more efficient while making the country’s largest energy user – the federal government – reduce its energy use through the use of energy-efficient technology.

Shaheen has also introduced the Smart Manufacturing Act, legislation that would assist small- and medium-sized U.S. manufacturers in adopting what’s known as “smart manufacturing technologies” which reduce energy consumption and costs through real-time management of productivity.