This Week in Climate & Clean Energy Wins: Week of 2/3:

See our state by state breakdown here.

New reports this week found that the Inflation Reduction Act’s successes have resulted in billions of early clean energy investments, paving the way for stronger global supply chains to facilitate domestic clean energy growth. The Inflation Reduction Act’s manufacturing cost reductions will rapidly increase EV adoption, and EV purchases are set to represent 48-61% of all light-duty vehicles by 2030, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation.  In addition, a new Energy Innovation report found that replacing U.S. coal plants with solar and wind projects is officially cheaper than running operation costs, thanks to tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act. 

The Biden Administration announced over $1.8 billion this week in funding that will spearhead the development of affordable clean energy technologies, advance projects to lower the nation’s carbon pollution, and support state and local efforts to deploy clean transit fleets for public transportation needs across the country. Panasonic Energy acknowledged the potential for new EV battery plants in the U.S., General Motors will invest $650 million to support EV production, and wind-based PPA prices have dropped for the first time since 2021. Finally, the Mountain West could see up to 92,000 new jobs between 2023 and 2032 due to the Inflation Reduction Act, growing workforces in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. 

Companies rolled out a series of clean energy announcements this week. Panasonic Energy acknowledged the potential for new U.S. EV battery plants and GM invested $650 million in lithium for its EV production. Additionally, wind-based Power Purchase Agreement prices dropped for the first time in two years: 

• Panasonic Energy acknowledged the potential for new EV battery plants to be built in the U.S. [Bloomberg, 1/27/2023]
  • Panasonic CEO noted that the Inflation Reduction Act will continue to drive investments in the infrastructure needed for battery manufacturing, helping to create the economy of scale necessary to catch up with the global battery industry state-side. 
• Renewable energy marketplace LevelTen Energy announced that average wind-based PPA prices dropped 1.9% in Q4 of 2022 for the first time in two years. [Utility Dive, 1/31/2023]
  • The price reduction was driven partly by new, stable incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act. 
• General Motors will invest $650 million in lithium company, Lithium Americas, to support electric vehicle production. [CNBC, 1/31/2023]
  • Securing GM’s access to lithium for its battery supply chain, extracted lithium from their investment will provide enough raw materials to make 1 million EVs per year. 
• Toyota is partnering with an e-bike manufacturer to roll out a new line of electric bikes. [Electrek 1/29/2023] 
  • Toyota CEO, France Frank Marotte, explained that the new e-bike partnership is the next step in Toyota’s sustainability roadmap, which began with its early investment in hybrid vehicles.

New reports found that the Inflation Reduction Act’s success has resulted in billions in clean energy investments, EV uptake is set to rapidly increase, and replacing coal with solar and wind projects is a much cheaper alternative:  

• A new report from climate think tank Energy Innovation found that replacing U.S. coal plants with solar and wind projects is cheaper than running them. [Bloomberg, 1/30/2023]
  • Nearly all existing U.S. coal plants require more cash to operate than the cost of replacing them with solar or wind projects, as the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits have made reinvestment in renewable energy cheaper overall than continued investment in coal. 
• According to a new report from American Clean Power, the success of the Inflation Reduction Act has resulted in billions in clean energy investments.  [ABC News, 1/29/2023]
  • Early investments in clean energy demonstrate the effectiveness of the Inflation Reduction Act, and domestic investments minimize the risks of a fragile global supply chain to domestic clean energy growth. 
• A new study found the Inflation Reduction Act’s manufacturing cost reductions will rapidly increase EV uptake, with EV purchases representing 48-61% of all light-duty vehicles by 2030. [International Council On Clean Transportation, 1/31/2023]
  • That number will increase to 56-67% by 2032, the last year of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits. The study also found that heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle sales will range from 39-48% by 2030 and 44-52% of all sales by 2032. 
• Wind and solar energy exceeded expectations during Winter Storm Elliott. [Idaho Capital Sun, 1/30/2023]
  • Wind energy exports from MISO helped to avoid shutdowns in the hardest hit TVA areas. 

The Biden Administration announced over $1.8 billion this week in funding to develop affordable clean hydrogen technologies, for research and development projects to lower the nation’s carbon pollution, and to deploy clean transit buses across the country: 

• The Biden Administration announced $47 million to develop affordable clean hydrogen technologies. [U.S. Department of Energy, 1/27/2023]
  • The funding will accelerate research, development, and demonstration of affordable clean hydrogen technologies, reducing costs, enhancing hydrogen infrastructure, and improving the performance of hydrogen fuel cells. Altogether, the efforts will advance the DOE’s goal of reducing costs of clean hydrogen to $1 per kilogram within a decade. 
• The Department of Energy announced $131 million for research and development projects to lower the nation’s carbon pollution. [U.S. Department of Energy, 1/30/2023] 
  • The funding will go toward 33 research and development projects to advance the wide-scale deployment of carbon management technologies, reducing carbon dioxide pollution. “By deploying tools to capture, remove, and store CO2 emissions, we can dramatically reduce the air pollution harming our health and intensifying extreme weather events,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The projects announced today will get us closer to achieving our climate goals while helping to revitalize local economies and deliver environmental benefits to communities too often left behind.”  
• The Biden Administration announced the availability of nearly $1.7 billion to modernize transit fleets and deploy clean transit buses across the country. [U.S. Department of Transportation, 1/27/2023] 
  • Made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act’s funding for public transportation, the move will support state and local efforts to introduce low-and zero-emission buses, renovate and construct bus facilities and support workforce development. 

The Mountain West could see 92,000 new jobs from the Inflation Reduction Act, in states including Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming: 

• A new report from Data for Progress found that the Mountain West could see 92,000 new jobs from the Inflation Reduction Act between 2023 and 2032.  [KUNR, 1/31/2023]
  • Colorado would see the largest share, with 25,100 jobs, followed by Arizona with 24,600 jobs, Utah with 11,800 jobs, Nevada with 9,050 jobs, New Mexico with 7,360 jobs, Idaho with 6,810 jobs, Montana with 4,350 jobs, and Wyoming with 2,570 jobs.