The USA Inflation Reduction Act of Aug 2022 (IRA) set aside $369 billion dollars to support both new and existing technologies—from solar panels and heat pumps to batteries for electric vehicles—in an effort to slash costs for clean technologies and cut greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
AMIT review 12 months on from the introduction of the IRA concluded new initiatives are transforming climate change activities in the USA.
The total climate funding in the Inflation Reduction Act was the largest US investment in climate technology to date. An updated evaluation from the Joint Committee on Taxation in April 2023 estimated total government investment in the IRA of $515 billion from 2023 through 2032. However, that figure doesn’t include all the law’s programs, such as consumer tax credits for electric vehicles.
IRA USA Inflation Reduction Act Initiatives
The scope of investment and breakdown is described in detail at Wikipedia
- Electric transportation – from cars to school buses
- Renewable energy – solar PV panels, batteries, wind, geothermal
- Minerals for renewable energy
- Green hydrogen
- Agriculture
- Nuclear
- and a range of other technologies such as Carbon Capture, and Direct Air Capture which are unlike to contribute to any meaningful emissions reduction.
Allocation
IRA Emissions
The emissions goals are unlikely to be achieved, based on initial projections. The bulk of the emissions reductions may occur later in the program.
Jay Turner IRA Tracker
Wellesley College energy researcher Jay Turner and students track announcements at https://www.charged-the-book.com/na-ev-supply-chain-map. EVs made in North America get a $7,500 credit so most early announcements are for batteries. Manufacturers have raced to build battery factories. Solar panel production is up to 100GW announced.
- 65 new projects
- $53.4B in planned investments
- 38,183 projected new jobs
The region stretching from Michigan to Georgia has earned a new nickname, the Battery Belt, for all the multibillion battery projects.
Jack Conness IRA Tracker
Energy Innovation. has an alternate tracker for both the Chips Act and the IRA at https://www.jackconness.com/ira-chips-investments
IRA Spurs Investment in Solar
Sources and References
- Deloitte IRA https://www.deloitte.com/au/en/Industries/energy/blogs/inflation-reduction-act.html
- FACT SHEET: Inflation Reduction Act Advances Environmental Justice | The White House
- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_Reduction_Act
- Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Next-Generation Geothermal Power https://liftoff.energy.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LIFTOFF_DOE_NextGen_Geothermal_v14.pdf
