Climate Power

Menu

This Week in Climate & Clean Energy Wins: Week of 11/18:

See our state by state breakdown here.

 

 

  $16.2 Billion

The value of new domestic factories clean energy companies have advanced in three months since passage of the Inflation Reduction Act

530,000

The number of new electric vehicles registered in the U.S. through September this year, a 57% increase over last year

35-44%

NextEra’s estimate of how much the Inflation Reduction Act will reduce the cost of utility scale solar and wind by the end of the decade

As President Biden touted the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act at COP27 this week, new announcements continued to roll in showing the scale of its impact. New domestic manufacturing projects worth billions of investment were announced in Georgia and Alabama, and the nation’s first EV battery materials supplier reached a major deal with Panasonic in Kansas. New reports showed the Inflation Act powering an explosion of activity in the markets for energy storage, which is projected to grow 12x in the next 5 years, and new registrations of electric vehicles  are up 57% since last year. Executives from most major utilities declared that the Inflation Reduction Act would save their customers money while speeding the transition to clean energy. Leading this activity, President Biden announced ambitious new regulations and funding in Egypt, while his administration made more than $750 million in new clean energy grants available this week.

Clean energy companies announced new manufacturing and processing facilities representing billions in investments across the Southeast:

  • FREYR Battery to invest $2.57 billion in Georgia. [Georgia press release, 11/11/2022]
    • FREYR Battery will open a gigafactory in Coweta County, Georgia, with planned first phase production of 34 gigawatt hours.
    • The facility will create 723 new jobs over the next seven years.
    • Inflation Reduction Act “accelerated our ambitions,” FREYR CEO says [Yahoo!News, 11/16/2022]
  • First Solar Picks Alabama for $1.1 Billion Panel Factory [Yahoo!News, 11/16/2022]
    • The facility will create more than 700 new jobs and has a planned annual capacity of 3.5 GW.
  • GM Building EV Battery Separator Plant with $200 Million Grant [Thomas Insights, 11/17/2022]
    • The plant is supported by a $200 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing initiative.
  • Redwood Materials Inc. reached a deal to supply Panasonic with U.S. made critical battery components. [Bloomberg, 11/15/2022]
    • The agreement is the first major contract for domestically processed cathode material, the substance that makes up more than one third of the cost of a finished battery pack.
    • Redwood Materials CEO and Tesla co-founder J.B. Straubel said the Inflation Reduction Act’s domestic manufacturing incentives were “like what happens if you attach a rocket engine to supersonic airplane.”

All told, Bloomberg estimates the value of the new cleantech companies announced since passage of the Inflation Reduction Act at $16.2 billion.  [Bloomberg, 11/17/2022]

  • Billions flow to nascent US battery sector with push from climate law [Financial Times, 11/15/2022]
  • The automotive battery management system market size is expected to grow from US$ 61.03 million in 2022 to US$ 161.84 million by 2028 [Yahoo!News, 11/16/2022]

Wood Mackenzie forecasts U.S. energy storage capacity will grow 12x by 2026 due to Inflation Reduction Act Incentives. [Reuters, 11/16/2022]

Utility executives praised the Inflation Reduction Act for saving customers money and speeding the transition to clean energy.

  • NextEra’s projections show the cost of solar and wind dropping 35-44% because of the Inflation Reduction Act. [Utility Dive, 11/17/2022]
  • Duke Energy Chief Financial Officer Brian Savoy said “This will buy down the cost of that transition with our customers.” Duke had previously announced the law would save its customers $56 million. [Bloomberg, 11/14/2022]
  • American Electric Power Chief Executive Officer Nick Akins said “The act was really positive for the industry to move to a clean energy economy,.” [Bloomberg, 11/14/2022]
  • NextEra’s general counsel Sam Walsh said “We have a once-in-a-lifetime set of incentives that are on the table. The biggest risk for ratepayers would be a failure to capitalize on that right now.” [Utility Dive, 11/17/2022]
  • A PG&E spokesperson said “”These tax credits make it more affordable to develop wind plus storage projects, and savings are passed through to customers and reflected in their rates.” [Reuters, 11/16/2022]

Demand for electric vehicles is exploding, driving increases in profit.

  • More than 530,000 new battery-electric vehicles were registered in the U.S. through September, a 57% increase over the same period last year. [Utility Dive, 11/14/2022]
  • US EV adoption likely to get 20% boost by 2030 from Inflation Reduction Act: BloombergNEF report [Utility Dive, 11/17/2022]
  • GM expects EV profits to be comparable to gas vehicles by 2025, years ahead of schedule, crediting the Inflation Reduction Act. [CNBC, 11/17/2022]

President Biden and cabinet officials announced new initiatives at COP27 to strengthen U.S. leadership in tackling climate change. [White House press release, 11/11/2022]

  • President Biden announced the U.S. would double its pledge to the Adaptation Fund to $100 million and announced over $150 million in new support to accelerate the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE) efforts in Africa.
  • The U.S. also announced strengthened methane regulations on the domestic oil and gas industry.
  • Secretary Granholm announced the U.S. would aim for zero-emissions heavy-duty vehicles by 2040 [Reuters, 11/17/2022]

Back home, the Biden administration announced more than $700 million in new clean energy grants.

###