In the News: Climate Power’s Clean Energy Boom Report as the Inflation Reduction Act Turns One

Washington D.C. — As lawmakers and others celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, Climate Power’s Clean Energy Boom Report was featured in both national and local coverage detailing the law’s massive benefits, including on MSNBC, CNBC and CNN, and in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, just to name a few states. Climate Power’s report found that since its passage over 170,600 clean energy jobs across 44 states have moved forward, totaling $278 billion in new investments, advancing the burgeoning clean energy sector.

Representative Coverage

E&E News [Brian Dabbs, David Iaconangelo, 8/10/23]: 6 issues to watch as climate law remakes the energy sector, “A report in July from Climate Power …says companies have “announced or moved forward with projects” just in the past year that represent more than 170,000 new clean energy jobs…The report says the jobs are being created in 44 states, based on $278 billion in investment from the IRA through 272 new clean energy projects.”

The Guardian [Oliver Milman, 8/11/23]: Green investment boom and electric car sales: six key things about Biden’s climate bill, “There has been around $278bn in new clean energy investments, creating more than 170,000 jobs, across the US in the first year of the Inflation Reduction Act, according to an estimate by the advocacy group Climate Power.”

Politico [Josh Siegel, Kelsey Tamborino, Jessie Blaeser, 8/13/23]: Democrats’ climate law set off a wave of energy projects in GOP districts. A backlash followed, “While Republicans on the campaign trail and in Congress regularly bash the law — which Biden signed a year ago Wednesday — as big-government overreach by Democrats bent on killing off fossil fuels, its benefits are disproportionately landing in their communities. And as the measure supercharges efforts to combat climate change, it’s also rekindling economies where people have felt forgotten, potentially softening how some voters view Biden as he seeks reelection.”

The Atlantic [Leah C. Stokes, 8/14/23]: I Turned My House into a Zero-Carbon Utopia, “But the law is so much bigger than consumer incentives for clean machines. It’s also reshaping the economy, generating more than 170,000 new jobs and $278 billion in new investments in battery manufacturing, wind-turbine factories, and solar manufacturing plants.”

Fast Company [Kristin Toussaint, 8/15/23]: $278 billion and 170,600 jobs: How Biden’s landmark climate bill changed the economy, “Climate Power, a nonprofit climate advocacy group, has more numbers that show the jobs impact of the IRA. According to its research, the climate plan in the Inflation Reduction Act has created more than 170,600 clean-energy jobs. Those jobs include not just workers at new renewable energy factories, but also construction workers, electricians, mechanics, support staff, and more. This range shows the wide breadth of clean-energy jobs, even if they weren’t previously thought of as such. (These jobs are also in high demand—and even facing shortages—as more and more infrastructure projects go green).”

NBC News [Ben Kamisar, 8/15/23]: New ad campaign touts Biden’s clean energy jobs record, “A coalition of prominent progressive and climate change activist groups is launching a six-figure media buy celebrating the first anniversary of President Joe Biden’s signature spending bill, which included measures aimed at tackling climate change and promoting green energy production, NBC News has learned. Climate Power, a climate campaign that has a slew of prominent advisors including former Obama administration officials and progressives, is joining with 34 other partner groups for an ongoing campaign aimed at raising of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act around the country and in key swing states starting on Wednesday.”

The Messenger [Dave Levitan, 8/15/23]: After One Year, Biden’s Landmark Climate Legislation Has Delivered, Though Uncertainties Remain, “This list of clean energy projects announced in the wake of the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act one year ago could continue for another 300 or so entries. The flurry of such announcements, which total close to $300 billion in new investment and upwards of 170,000 jobs, suggests the hype surrounding the IRA may have been justified.”

Politico Morning Energy Newsletter [Kelsey Tamborrino, 8/16/23]: Biden’s green birthday party, “A collection of 35 environmental, voting rights, progressive and labor organizations banded together for a campaign touting federal investments spurring clean energy manufacturing. The effort, known as Made by Us, bills itself a “clean energy storytelling campaign.” The initiative began with a six-figure TV and digital advertising buy to tout the 170,000-plus new jobs sprouting from the IRA, according to Climate Power, and will later include print and digital ads in “key markets across the country,” the coalition said.”

The New Republic [Kate Aronoff, 8/15/23]: The Case for Pool Party Progressivism, “Subsidies for those things create jobs: Since the IRA passed, more than 100,000 new clean energy jobs have been created. Companies are relocating to the U.S., enticed by subsidies. It’s now cheaper to buy an electric vehicle and install solar panels on your house than it was before the IRA passed.”

TIME [Gina McCarthy, 8/16/23]: The Inflation Reduction Act Took U.S. Climate Action Global. Here’s What Needs To Happen Next, “In the U.S., companies have announced or moved forward with projects in 44 states since the IRA was passed, accounting for more than 170,600 new clean energy jobs and $278 billion in new investments. Our goals under the Paris Agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030 are now within reach. The U.S. can head to the global COP28 climate negotiations this fall ready to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.”

Reuters [Trevor Hunnicutt, Jarett Renshaw, 8/16/23]: Biden touts Inflation Reduction Act on first anniversary “Biden, speaking at a White House ceremony, said the legislation already created 170,000 clean energy jobs and will create some 1.5 million jobs over the next decade, while significantly cutting the nation’s carbon emissions. The legislation, Biden said, has shifted production of critical components away from China and into the United States. “We are building here and sending over there,” Biden said.”

NPR [Deidre Walsh, 8/16/23]: Schumer says Inflation Reduction Act provides contrast with Republicans in 2024, “Schumer joined Biden at an event celebrating the anniversary at the White House on Wednesday and predicted “the best is yet to come.” Biden cited new private sector investments in clean energy and 170,000 new jobs he said are directly due to the one-year old law as evidence it’s working.”

Bloomberg [Leslie Kaufman, 8/16/23]: A Year Into Biden’s Climate Agenda, the Price Tag Remains Mysterious, “It’s been exactly one year since President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, securing a core part of his domestic agenda with what’s by far the most significant climate law in US history. There’s been no shortage of numbers attesting to the rapid transformation of the American economy: $86 billion in private investment, 51 new or expanded plants for producing solar panels, 91 new factories for making batteries, more than 100,000 clean-energy jobs.”

C-SPAN Washington Journal [8/15/23]: Lori Lodes and Jack Spencer on the Inflation Reduction Act and Clean Energy Jobs, “…What we are seeing in the last year is that we are having private investment all across the country in local communities that are creating hundreds of thousands of jobs—over 170,000—in the last year. It really is why I believe this is one of the most successful pieces of legislation in our country’s history, and that includes offshore wind. These are new industries that are standing up because there is a demand for energy in our country, and there is a demand that we take action on Climate. And the fact that we can do this in a way that is sustainable, that is making our communities more resilient, that is helping our schools flourish and keeping our roads pothole-free is outstanding news. And the bonuses we are taking action on climate, which means that we are really going to—if we keep taking action on climate—make the impact less than they are otherwise going to be.”