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Inflation Reduction Act helped create 100,000 jobs — report
Six months after passing, the law resulted in investments of $89.6 billion, according to a climate advocacy group
CLIMATEWIRE | Tax credits and subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act may have led to the creation of more than 100,000 jobs since Biden signed it into law, according to a new report from the nonprofit advocacy group Climate Power.
The analysis released Monday tracked investment announcements from clean energy companies in technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles and batteries. Between the bill's signing on Aug. 16, 2022, to Jan. 31, 2023, more than 90 projects totaling $89.6 billion were announced, potentially leading to 101,036 new jobs across 31 states, the group said.
The findings come amid a bipartisan embrace of federal money trickling down from Biden’s climate bills, the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — who once said global warming is “healthy” for the planet — came out in support of a new $2.5 billion solar panel factory that was announced in January for her home state, saying she is “not against renewable energy.”
The Climate Power report identifies several Republican-led states that are benefiting from the measure's environmental investments, such as Ohio, South Carolina, Texas and Tennessee.
The 100,000 new jobs could be a harbinger of more to come.
“This is only the beginning,” Lori Lodes, executive director of Climate Power, said in a statement. “We’re already at the precipice of a renewed manufacturing, Made-in-America boom.”
The Inflation Reduction Act, through federal grants, loans, tax credits and investment programs, could help the United States create more than 9 million jobs over the next decade, according to a 2022 report from the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
The largest investments listed in the report include a $2.5 billion Toyota Motor Corp. factory in North Carolina, a $4 billion Panasonic Corp. battery plant in Kansas, a $5.6 billion Ford Motor Co. complex for EVs and Tesla Inc.’s new $3.5 billion factory in Nevada, which would produce over 150 gigawatt-hours of battery packs annually.
The Climate Power report lists Georgia as the top beneficiary, with new investments of $15.2 billion that are projected to create more than 16,000 jobs. In August, South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. announced it would build a $9 billion EV plant in Georga, while QCells, another Korean company, released plans last month to build a $2.5 billion solar panel facility (Energywire, Jan. 11).
In Georgia, state subsidies mattered as much as federal money, as Hyundai received nearly $1.8 billion in tax incentives. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is actively courting businesses related to EVs while maintaining an ambiguous stance on climate science.
