This Week in Climate & Clean Energy Wins: Week of 3/17

This week, car companies took the lead on new announcements. Volkswagen plans to invest $193 billion in electrification efforts over the next five years, manufacturing batteries, developing software, and sourcing raw materials for its vehicles, and Honda is turning its Ohio auto plant into an EV hub. Meanwhile, Nissan aims to reduce EV development and manufacturing costs by 30 percent by 2026, which will bring down consumer prices considerably over the next few years. 

According to a new report by the Environmental Defense Fund, investments in U.S. EV manufacturing have reached $120 billion, creating 143,000 new jobs over the last eight years. Notably, more than 40 percent of those announcements occurred in the last six months – since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Also, by the end of 2022, EV production in the U.S. represented seven percent  of total domestic car production, up 4.7 percent from the year before. 

The Biden Administration announced $2.5 billion in funding for EV charging stations nationwide, including $700 million to set up EV chargers and alternative fuel stations in rural parts of the country. The Administration also announced nearly $800 million combined across projects to advance clean hydrogen technology and reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector. And this week, the EPA officially expanded a regulation from the Obama Administration to strengthen air pollution standards, including power plants, mills, factories, and other industrial facilities. The move will be applied to factories and power plants in 23 Western and Midwestern states to reduce smog. 

In the states, lawmakers are continuing to pursue innovative climate policies. Minnesota lawmakers are weighing the strictest clean transportation standard in the country, Maine wants to move up their state’s target for reaching 100 percent clean energy, and Illinois may move to require labels on gas stoves, warning consumers about their pollution.  

This week, companies announced new wind projects and factories for solar modules and EV manufacturing. Volkswagen plans to invest $193 billion in electrification, while Nissan aims to reduce EV development and manufacturing costs by 30 percent by 2026 to make them more consumer-affordable: 

• Orsted and Eversource submitted a joint proposal for an 884 MW wind project offshore of Rhode Island. [North American Wind Power, 3/13/2023]
  • The proposal would include a $35 million investment in the Quonset Point offshore wind hub.

• Ascent Solar Technologies announced plans to repurpose its Colorado factory to build perovskite solar modules. [Electrek, 3/13/2023]
  • These solar cells have the potential to be a low-cost, power-conversion-efficient alternative to traditional silicon-based solar cells.
• Volkswagen plans to invest $193 billion in electrification. [Yahoo, 3/15/2023]
  • Over the next five years, two-thirds of that funding will go towards manufacturing batteries, developing software, and sourcing critical and raw materials for its vehicles.

• Honda is turning its Marysville, OH, Auto Plant into an EV hub. [Electrek, 3/14/2023]
  • This is building off of Honda’s announced plans last October to invest $700 million to update three Ohio plans for EV production and invest $3.5 billion into a new battery factory with LGES.
• Nissan set a goal to reduce EV development and manufacturing costs by 30 percent by 2026. [Car Buzz, 3/11/2023]
  • The new approach involves electrified powertrains that use a small gas engine to charge batteries and should bring consumer costs down on the vehicles. 
• Arcosa announced that it will develop new wind turbine towers factory in New Mexico. [Electrek, 3/15/2023]
  • The plant plans to make $750M worth of new wind turbines, and anticipated to create 250 jobs. 
• In major news, Foxconn announced that it would build electric vehicle batteries in Wisconsin and Ohio. [Teslarati, 3/16/2023] 
  • While details are forthcoming, Foxxconn will most likely use the Lordstown Plant in Ohio, which was recently sold to Foxconn in an effort to save the facility. 

According to the EDF, 40 percent of EV manufacturing job growth in the past 8 years occurred in the last 6 months—since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act: 

• Investments in U.S. EV manufacturing have reached $120 billion, creating 143,000 new jobs over the last 8 years. [Environmental Defense Fund, 3/14/2023]
  • According to a new report by the Environmental Defense Fund and WSP USA, more than 40 percent of those announcements happened in the last six months – since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. 
• By the end of 2022, EV production in the U.S. represented seven percent of total domestic car production, up 4.7 percent from 2021. [Bloomberg, 3/14/2023]
  • Reports found that EV demand continues to outstrip demand, with 26 percent of U.S. drivers intending to buy an EV. 

The Biden Administration announced $2.5 billion in funding for EV charging stations, $750 million to advance clean hydrogen technology, $47 million to reduce methane emissions, and are cracking down on smog-polluting smokestacks across the Midwest: 

• The Biden Administration opened applications for $2.5 billion in funding for EV charging stations nationwide. [Forbes, 3/14/2023]
  • The funding includes $700 million to set up EV chargers and alternative fuel stations in rural parts of the country.
• The Biden Administration announced $750 million to advance clean hydrogen technologies. [Department of Energy Press Release, 3/15/2023] 
  • The funding will go towards research, development, and demonstration efforts to dramatically reduce the cost of clean hydrogen.
• The Department of Energy announced $47 million to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. [Department of Energy Press Release, 3/14/2023]
  • The second largest contributor to climate change, this funding will go towards 22 research projects advancing new measurement, monitoring, and mitigation technologies to reduce methane emissions. 
• The EPA finalized a rule forcing factories and power plants in 23 Western and Midwestern states to cut smog-causing pollution released from their smokestacks. [New York Times, 3/15/2023]
  • Known as the “good neighbor” rule, the new regulation strengthens and expands an earlier interstate air pollution standard enacted during the Obama administration. While that rule directed power plants to clean up their emissions, the revised rule enforces similar controls on mills, factories, and other industrial facilities.

States continue to introduce innovative policies to drive forward climate progress, namely in Minnesota, Maine, and Illinois – as Michigan continues to be a leader in EV and battery investments: 

• Democrats in Minnesota, Maine, and Illinois are pursuing climate policies to keep an eye on [The Washington Post, 3/14/2023]
  • In Minnesota, lawmakers are weighing the strictest clean transportation standard in the country. In Maine, Democrats want to move up the state’s target for reaching 100 percent clean energy. And in Illinois, novel legislation would require a label on gas stoves warning consumers about their pollution. 
• Michigan pulled ahead as a  top state for EV & battery investments, bringing home $16.6 billion and creating 16,300 jobs. [Michigan Economic Development Corporation, 3/14/2023]
  • The new figures come from a recent report from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), touted by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “Michigan is on the move, and we have an extraordinary opportunity right now to create thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs and bring supply chains home. We are bringing home $16.6 billion of projects creating 16,300 jobs building batteries and electric vehicles…Together, we will make Michigan the undisputed leader in mobility and electrification and build a brighter future. Let’s get it done,” she said.