Ajulo Othow started solar and storage company EnerWealth Solutions seven years ago to get small solar projects on farmland and other places in rural communities in the Southeast where money is tight and the phrase “green economy” is rarely spoken.
In just the past year, Othow said the amount of solar power her company has developed has gone from 2 megawatts of power to 25 — a 1,150 percent increase due to the Inflation Reduction Act, the massive climate and economic development law enacted in 2022 was introduced.
“What the Inflation Reduction Act allows us to do now is have everyday people benefit from this technology,” said Othow, a longtime attorney in North Carolina’s solar industry and the president of Black Owners of Solar Services.
The IRA is the Biden administration’s signature climate bill. The historic act is the most aggressive climate policy in US history, rolling out billions in tax breaks and other incentives with the goal of reducing economy-wide carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030.
Every Republican in Congress voted against the bill, arguing that it was nothing more than handouts to support climate and social justice programs. Some on the extreme right continues to argue that climate change is a hoax. But now some GOP backbenchers who voted against the IRA are urging their leader to consider saving key parts of it.
Urias Communications
IRA creates ‘economic revolution’
In fact, it’s the red states that have overwhelmingly benefited from the federal government’s infusion of clean energy money, according to a report released this month by E2a national nonpartisan group of more than 10,000 business leaders advocating for a cleaner economy and environment.
Friday marks two years since Biden signed the IRA. Companies have announced about 330 clean energy and vehicle projects since then, efforts that could create 109,278 jobs and bring in a whopping $126 billion in private investment, if completed, according to the E2 report.
E2’s report breaks down IRA-supported projects by state, sector and industry as well as by congressional district. It found that “nearly 60 percent of the announced projects—representing 85 percent of the investments and 68 percent of the jobs—are in Republican congressional districts.”
Although Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat, boasts the largest number of projects – eight – in her district, the next seven congressional districts with the most IRA-subsidized projects are all represented by Republicans – in Georgia, the Carolinas, Nevada and Oklahoma.
“This is what I truly believe is the greatest economic revolution this country has seen in generations, and it’s because we finally, finally, finally decided in this country to do something about climate change and clean energy,” said Bob Keefe, executive director, said. from E2, during an hour-long online presentation with reporters.
Red government projects proliferate
Among the major projects is South Korea-based solar manufacturer QCells. Last year, it announced a $2.5 billion expansion in Dalton, Georgia, spurring more than 2,500 jobs and turning a town known as the “carpet capital of the world” into a destination for clean energy production helps change.
Since 2022, the northern third of Nevada has added more than 5,000 jobs from a $6.6 billion investment in projects such as the Rhyolite Ridge and Thacker Pass lithium mines, as the state aims to become the lithium capital of the United States become
Lee Pedinoff / Floodlight
And in North Carolina, $19.7 billion was poured into the state, creating 22 clean energy projects and more than 10,000 jobs in solar, recycling, electric vehicles and battery manufacturing. The investments include a $13.9 billion Toyota Motor North America EV/hybrid battery plant expected to open next year.
E2’s report is based on publicly available information, including news releases and formal government announcements. About one-third of the information did not include how much money was being invested or how many jobs a project was expected to create, E2 said.
In other words, the impact of the IRA is likely broader than the nonprofit’s score. This bodes well for environmentalists and clean energy advocates.
Indeed, the QCells project is in the district home to the highly vocal GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a climate denier and an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump as he runs for a second term. Nevada US Rep. Mark Amodei sides with MAGA Republicans, who have pushed for more fossil fuel production in the United States – not less.
NC lawmakers block change
North Carolina is led by a Democratic governor Roy Cooper, whose executive order on climate change aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 40 percent from 2005 levels by next year. But its majority GOP legislature and congressional delegation frequently speak out against clean energy policies.
Cooper was successful in getting the legislature to pass a comprehensive energy bill that he signed in 2021, three years after his executive order on climate change. In turn, the state legislature used the state budget to reduce environmental protections or shape energy policy.
In 2023, lawmakers added a provision barring North Carolina from joining a cap-and-trade program — such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative — to limit power plant emissions.
That GOP-led states bear the most fruit from the IRA is not surprising. Many, like those in the Midwest and Southeast, are home to major manufacturing operations, such as automakers, that are moving toward an all-hybrid or electric product in the coming decade.
Courtesy of Toyota
This means that while conservative politicians may scoff at dollars to clean up the environment, spending that spurs new or growing businesses and jobs gets their attention.
Georgia is one of five states boasting 20 or more projects resulting from IRA investments. One of Nevada’s congressional districts has one of the highest numbers of jobs created by IRA. And North Carolina’s multi-billion dollar investment is the highest among the 50 states.
The Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina in Liberty is now valued at $13.9 billion. A company spokesman said the IRA helped but was not central to Toyota’s decision to expand the scope of the project, which is scheduled to start cranking out batteries for EVs and hybrids next year.
“Incentives can be useful, but are often temporary or subject to changing political dynamics. As a result, Toyota makes long-term investment decisions based on the market, not incentive opportunities,” Eric Booth said in a statement sent to Floodlight.
Some Republicans are reconsidering opposition to IRA
In fact, 18 Republicans in Congress have a letter to GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana urging him to exercise caution in repealing all or parts of the IRA — something Trump has promised to do if re-elected president.
“Energy tax credits have spurred innovation, spurred investment and created good jobs in many parts of the country — including many districts represented by members of our conference,” the Aug. 6 letter to Johnson said.
The congressmen said they heard from industry and voters that clawing back previously issued energy tax credits, especially on projects that have already broken ground, would undermine private investment and stall development.
“A full repeal would create a worst-case scenario where we would have spent billions of taxpayer dollars and received next to nothing in return,” the letter said.
There was a noticeable decrease in the number of projects, jobs and money invested during the second year of the IRA compared to the first. Keefe partly credits it to the upcoming election.
“We know that any time there’s an election year, there’s going to be policy uncertainty,” he said.
Keefe warned that if the IRA is rolled back, “it’s not, you know, tree pushers and environmentalists in San Francisco or New York that are going to be hurt. It’s working class people in Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina, Ohio that are going to be hurt because that’s where these projects are going.”
