THIS WEEK IN CLIMATE & CLEAN ENERGY WINS: WEEK OF 6/23/23:

In another big week of commitments from motor vehicle companies, Hyundai Motor Group will begin pilot operations as soon as April 2024 on the first EV plant being built in Georgia – expected to have an annual production capacity of between 300-500,000 cars. Toyota will join General Motors and Ford in building a research lab for EV batteries in Michigan as the latest move in remaking Michigan’s Rust Belt into a “Battery Belt,” and Mazda and Panasonic are entering talks to set up a battery supply partnership for EVs.

According to the International Energy Agency, EV sales grew 55% last year in the U.S. and will reach 18% of overall global car sales this year. The report also found that the rate of energy efficiency improvements in 2022 was double the average of the past five years. In a move to position the U.S. against growing Chinese competition, a bipartisan group of lawmakers called on the U.S. to dominate the next generation of battery technologies after meeting with Ford and GM CEOs. Silicon Valley’s annual climate tech report found that the climate technology sector is more stable than others as global efforts are underway to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced its first-ever Climate Resilience Regional Challenge this week. The program will provide $575 million to help coastal and Great Lakes communities become more climate resilient and marks the first funding opportunity released under the $2.6 billion Inflation Reduction Act climate resilience framework. According to an exclusive in The Washington Post, the White House plans to invest $1 billion to make more than 100 federal buildings all-electric or net zero emissions.

Lastly, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo signed legislation updating the state’s utility planning process and opening a path for NV Energy to own more renewable generation and battery facilities. In Arizona, recent investments in computer chip manufacturing and electric vehicles have made Phoenix a major player in global tech and manufacturing. Likewise, a new report by Southern Alliance for Clean Energy found that Georgia is now among the top adopters of clean energy in the south – progress that the report credits to the Inflation Reduction Act. In Pennsylvania, the CEO of the state’s largest coal plant announced the facility will shut down by July 1, 2023.

Private Sector

Hyundai Motor Group will begin pilot operations as soon as April 2024 on the first EV plant being built in Georgia. [Pulse News, 6/20/2023].
The Metaplant is projected to have an annual production capacity of between 300,000 and 500,000 cars. Hyundai Motor Group has plans to produce 840,000 EVs, or 26 percent of its entire global sales target, in the U.S. in 2030.
Strata Clean Energy has begun construction on two battery energy storage systems funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. [Yahoo Finance, 6/21/2023]
The company made an $8.7 million investment for the Georgia and Vermont projects, each of which has 5MW/10MWh of storage capacity.
Toyota will join General Motors and Ford in building a research lab for EV batteries in Michigan. [Wards Auto, 6/21/2023]
The plans mark the latest move by automakers and suppliers to remake Michigan’s Rust Belt into a “Battery Belt” to support the industry’s move to EVs.
Mazda and Panasonic will start talks to set up a battery supply partnership for EVs. [Reuters, 6/21/2023]
In the partnership, Panasonic Energy would supply Mazda with automotive cylindrical lithium-ion batteries made in Japan and North America for Mazda EVs expected to be rolled out in the latter half of this decade.
New Reports

According to the International Energy Agency, sales of EVs grew 55% last year in the U.S. and made up more than 7% of new car sales in Q1 of 2023. [Smart Cities Dive, 6/21/2023]
Globally, EVs made up 14% of new car sales in 2022 and could reach 18% this year, IEA said.
The report also found that the rate of energy efficiency improvements in 2022 was double the average of the past five years, and residential heat pump sales exceeded gas furnaces for the first time, constituting 53% of heating system sales.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers called on the U.S. to dominate the next generation of battery technologies after meeting with Ford and GM CEOs. [Bloomberg, 6/20/2023]
Silicon Valley’s annual climate tech report found that the climate technology sector is more stable than other sectors, with global efforts underway to achieve a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. [Market Screener, 6/21/2023]
Leading the energy transition business leaders of top companies shared a series of articles on how they are implementing Inflation Reduction Act provisions. [Green Biz, 6/21/2023]
The report writes that the Inflation Reduction Act is a “major win for American businesses…destined to be transformative” if implemented efficiently and effectively.
Biden Administration

This week, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its first-ever Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, which will provide $575 million to help coastal and Great Lakes communities become more resilient to extreme weather and other impacts of the climate crisis. [White House, 6/20/2023]
The Challenge is the first and largest funding opportunity released under the $2.6 billion Inflation Reduction Act climate resilience framework that the Department unveiled earlier this month.
According to details the White House shared exclusively with The Washington Post, The Biden Administration is planning to invest $1 billion in making more than 100 federal buildings all-electric or net zero emissions. [Washington Post, 6/20/2023]
Funding for this program will come from the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Biden-Harris Administration announced a $77 million investment in states and tribal nations to modernize the nation’s electric grid. [Department of Energy, 6/16/2023]
The grants will go to seven states and three tribal nations to reduce the impacts of extreme weather and natural disasters, while ensuring power sector reliability.
State-Level

Recent major investments in computer chip manufacturing and electric and autonomous vehicles have made Phoenix a major player in global tech and manufacturing. [Axios, 6/21/2023]
Arizona has attracted more semiconductor investment since 2020 than any other U.S. state.
Late last week, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo signed legislation updating the state’s utility planning process while also opening a path for NV Energy to own more renewable generation and battery facilities. [Utility Dive, 6/21/2023]
According to a new report by Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, the state of Georgia is now among the top adopters of clean energy in the south. The report credits the progress Georgia and other states have made to the recent influx of federal grant money. [The Moultrie Observer, 6/18/2023]
The Southern Alliance predicts that Georgia will surpass North Carolina for second place in the region in the next two years for total solar installations and average wattage produced per customer.
The CEO of Pennsylvania’s largest coal plant Homer City Generating Station announced that the facility will shut down by July 1, 2023. [State Impact Pennsylvania, 6/16/2023]
The plant was a major air polluter, emitting mercury, nitrous oxides, and climate-warming carbon dioxide. At one point, it was even the country’s largest emitter of sulfur dioxide.