Displaying items by tag: inflation reduction act

Circa 1798: ‘Plan of the City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia; ceded by the states of Virginia and Maryland to the United States of America, and by them established as the seat of their government, after the year 1800.’  Ellicott/Thornton/Library of Congress

Groups to carry on air quality work, defend U.S. investments and ensure voices are heard from all communities

This story is from North Carolina News Service.

RALEIGH — President-elect Donald J. Trump retakes office in less than a week amid promises to roll back efforts to combat climate change. A friendly Congress could follow suit. But state-level efforts to address the crisis will continue in North Carolina, at least.

Trump has promised to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act passed under President Joe Biden, which earmarked billions for climate-resilience and alternative energy projects. Brittany Griffin with the nonprofit CleanAIRE NC says tinkering with the law would hurt the state, including its ability to prepare for more severe weather as climate change worsens. But she says there are still glimmers of hope on the state level.

“We still have a lot of state-led policies, and then our makeup now of the General Assembly looks different. We have a governor who also is pretty well-informed and, I believe, dedicated to addressing environmental issues in our state,” he said.

Griffin added that her organization will be working with community and legal partners to resist potentially harmful changes under the Trump administration, and ensuring that all citizens have a voice in their environment. CleanAIRE NC’s community science manager Daisha Walls is on the Environmental Justice Advisory Council for the Governor’s Office.

Griffin noted that there are a number of ways CleanAIRE NC is helping people feel more empowered, such as through its air monitoring networks in communities across the state and clean energy transportation efforts in rural areas, and said community member involvement is important to the state’s response to climate change.

“When they amplify their voice, it allows them to feel like they are participating in the process of shaping environmental policies as it relates to their communities,” she said.

North Carolina lawmakers have passed climate goals under the state’s Carbon Plan that aim to reduce Duke Energy’s carbon emissions by 70 percent by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. But Griffin said the current plan falls short for the state’s underserved and impacted communities. However, it is renewed every two years and she hopes they have a larger say in the next iteration.

“We at CleanAIRE NC would like to make sure there’s more inclusion for all communities in the planning process so they can actually more directly benefit from it,” she said.

The IRA’s clean-energy progress is clearest in our communities

Stephen Smith is executive director of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. He was a founder of the Foundation for Global Sustainability (FGS) and serves on the FGS board of directors. Hellbender Press is published by FGS.

KNOXVILLE — The largest climate investment legislation in U.S. history, the Inflation Reduction Act, celebrated its two-year anniversary in August: two years of reducing harmful pollution, of creating thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs, of welcoming billions of dollars in clean energy investments to the Southeast. The ways the IRA has and will continue to benefit our region and beyond are innumerable — and the numbers don’t lie. 

The IRA’s progress is clearest here in our communities: between Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, 559,820 households received more than $1.3 billion in residential clean energy and energy-efficiency tax credits in tax year 2023. Real people are saving money and benefiting from the historic climate law every day — take it from seven SACE members, their IRA stories and the encouraging statistics mentioned here. 

The reach of the IRA stretches beyond our homes — over 70,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations now dot the U.S., and federal tax credits on both new and used EVs have saved consumers over $1 billion so far this year alone. Last month, SACE released its updated 2024 Electrify the South Electric Transportation Toolkit to help guide decision-makers through this time of enormous opportunity.

The state of Tennessee will partner with the Tennessee Valley Authority to carry out a federal home energy efficiency rebate program that was included in the federal Inflation Reduction Act.  Getty Images via Tennessee Lookout

What might Tennessee’s energy-efficiency rebate plan look like, and when?

This article was originally published by Tennessee Lookout.

NASHVILLE — More than $8 billion flagged for home energy rebates in the Inflation Reduction Act is beginning to trickle out of federal coffers, but Tennessee residents will likely have to wait until the spring of 2025 to start applying for their chunk of change.

Each state must shape its own plan to dole out the funding, which can put money residents spend on energy efficiency upgrades back into the households’ pockets if they meet certain requirements. New York and Wisconsin became the first states to begin offering federally funded home energy rebates to their residents in mid-August, two years after President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act and its many energy-focused subsidies into law.

In total, the rebate funds are expected to impact between 1 to 2 percent of households across the nation.

Tennessee submitted its application to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the more than $167 million earmarked for the state in mid-August. Tennessee’s 2025 rollout timeline largely depends on how quickly the DOE approves the state’s applications and when Tennessee can execute a contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority — its chosen implementer — to put the program into action. 

Tennessee state Rep. Justin J. Pearson speaks to community members assembled for the evening discussion during the People’s Voice on TVA’s Energy Plan.  John Waterman/Appalachian Voices

A lack of public process brought together a coalition of environmental organizations 

NASHVILLE — In every state except Tennessee, for-profit utilities and their regulators are required to get public input about energy-resource planning.

These Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) provide an opportunity for a utility to demonstrate that the ratepayer money the utility spends is on the best mix of energy investments that meet this objective. 

In Tennessee, however, TVA, which is the nation’s largest public power provider, has no process for engaging the public on its IRPs.

It is this lack of public process that brought a coalition of environmental organizations together to host a mock public hearing in a Nashville church last month presided by Ted Thomas, former chair of Georgia Center for Energy Solutions. Their goal was to call attention to the fact that TVA acts more like a corporation or a self-regulated monopoly than as a public utility. The groups say that lack of public involvement in the process harms Tennesseeans across the board. 

The historic federal climate legislation known as the Inflation Reduction Act passed last summer. The $7 billion program will help fund rooftop solar projects benefiting communities with lower incomes and provide workforce development enabling millions of households’ access to affordable, resilient, and clean solar energy.  Southern Environmental Law Center

A competitive grant program to bring solar power to people with limited incomes has found huge demand in the South

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, as well as other tribal governments, municipalities and nonprofits submitted applications for Solar for All, a new program designed to expand solar access.

Part of the historic federal climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act passed last summer, the $7 billion program will fund rooftop solar projects benefiting communities with lower incomes and provide workforce development enabling millions of households’ access to affordable, resilient and clean solar energy and related jobs. These funds have the potential to double the number of rooftop solar customers with 100 percent of cost saving solar, benefiting customers that would not otherwise be able to access solar.  

“This is a generational opportunity to enable low-income households in the South to access affordable, resilient, and clean solar energy,” Thompson said.

Electric car recharging.  Courtesy Wikipedia Commons

KNOXVILLE — This month marks the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant clean energy and climate action legislation in U.S. history, and our region is already seeing massive economic benefits. Consider this: just one year into the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), four Southeastern states rank in the top 10 nationally for new clean energy investments:

• Georgia: $18.83 billion with 22 new major clean energy projects, the 2^nd most in the nation
• South Carolina: $11.71 billion with 20 new major clean energy projects, 
  the 3^rd most in the nation
• Tennessee: $5.76 billion with 13 new major clean energy projects, the 6^th most in the nation
• North Carolina: $9.61 billion with 9 new major clean energy projects, the 10^th most in the nation
• Florida: $503 million with 5 new major clean energy projects

The Southeast will also be a leading hub for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing with more than 60,000 announced jobs, according to SACE's fourth annual Transportation Electrification in the Southeast report, produced with Atlas Public Policy, which will be published next Wednesday, September 6. The report also shows that Georgia leads all states in the country for announced EV manufacturing jobs. Join us for the webinar on September 6 at 11:00 a.m. ET to hear more highlights of the report.

While the economic growth numbers from the first year of the IRA are encouraging, the real impacts will be measured by the people and communities that will benefit from the transition to clean energy.

— Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

ONEIDA — Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area (NRRA) received $1 million for the orphaned well reclamation project, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This project is part of a nationwide effort to restore natural habitats and address climate change impacts.

In fiscal year 2023, President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act will provide $52 million to the National Park Service to fund projects throughout the country related to ecosystem resilience, restoration, and environmental planning needs.  

The Big South Fork project will plug and reclaim six orphaned well sites throughout the park in Tennessee and Kentucky. The project, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, will mitigate abandoned mine drainage and close open mine portals at Big South Fork NRRA.

Methane pollution from many of these unplugged wells is a serious safety hazard and is a significant driver of climate change, with methane being more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

“Plugging the wells removes abandoned aboveground oil or gas production equipment, improves visitor safety and protects park groundwater and other park resources,” said Big South Fork NRRA Superintendent Niki Stephanie Nicholas in a press release.

“The restoration of these sites through these investments will stabilize access roads and production sites and promote ecosystem health by planting native plant species.”

— National Park Service

This view shows the main sanctuary from the side building that hosts Oak Ridge Faith Lutheran Church’s solar panels.  Ben Pounds/Hellbender Press

How two East Tennessee churches went solar, and can help your congregation do it, too

OAK RIDGE — On two church roofs on the same road in this small town that helped harvest the atom, panels catch the sun’s rays for electric power.

Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike and Faith Lutheran Church at 1300 Oak Ridge Turnpike added solar energy at different times through different companies using different federal incentives. ORUUC added its panels in 2015; Faith Lutheran added them in March 2022. Members of both churches involved in the solar projects spoke to both the challenges involved and the benefits. They said their churches benefited both financially and spoke of the benefits to the planet.

“I really hope it works well for us as well as for the environment,” said George Smith, associate pastor at Faith Lutheran. “I’m fond of thinking that we’re turning God’s gift of sunshine into a gift of cash for ministry.”

The inordinate burden of energy costs is shown in this slide presented by Tony Reames during a discussion of energy injustice at the University of Tennessee Howard Baker Center.  U.S. Department of Energy

Department of Energy official pushes goals for energy equity in midst of power turmoil

KNOXVILLE — Energy injustice seems abstract until you run extension cords to your neighbor’s house and store their food in your fridge because their power got cut off.

What else are you supposed to do? Maybe start raising hell about the utility inequities faced by poor people that are clearer every day in an energy marketplace scarred by war and inflation and manipulated by global petroleum cartels?

“We’re at a critical moment in our society. Across the globe, we are hearing about energy insecurity, energy, affordability issues, a lack of resources,” said Tony Reames, Department of Energy deputy director of energy justice, a newly created position at DOE.

TVA’s Cumberland Fossil Plant near Clarksville is the subject of a suit filed by environmental groups, including Appalachian Voices and Southern Environmental Law Center.  Tennessee Valley Authority

SELC, others file suit in hopes of dissuading TVA from future fossil options

This story was originally published by Tennessee Lookout.

CLARKSVILLE — On behalf of the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club and Appalachian Voices, the Southern Environmental Law Center asked TVA to prepare a supplemental environmental statement to address concerns with TVA’s draft environmental impact statement, which details the agency’s plans to retire the Cumberland Fossil Plant.

The Cumberland Fossil Plant, about 22 miles southwest of Clarksville, is TVA’s largest coal-fired power station and was built between 1968 and 1973. TVA plans to retire each unit of the two-unit, coal-fired steam-generation plant separately: one unit no later than 2030, and the second unit no later than 2033. But the plant will need to be replaced, and TVA is currently considering three alternatives to fossil fuel, including natural gas and solar energy, according to its draft EIS.

(Tennessee Valley Authority already plans to close down the Knoxville-area Bull Run fossil plant in Claxton next year).

A hopper car on a train filled with coal to be delivered to a TVA coal-fired plant. John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout

Climate bill designates TVA as a potential recipient of clean energy investments and loans

This story was originally published by Tennessee Lookout.

KNOXVILLE — Clean-energy advocates are urging the Tennessee Valley Authority to use funds provided through the Inflation Reduction Act to deliver environmentally friendly energy to Tennessee customers. 

The massive bill Congress passed Friday includes $370 billion for clean energy investments and listed TVA as an entity that is eligible to take advantage of clean energy credits and loans to significantly reduce the cost of energy-efficient infrastructure. 

On Aug. 12, the Clean Up TVA Coalition, including the Sierra Club, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Appalachian Voices, urged TVA to take advantage of the legislation and make funds available to its affiliated local power companies, which can then offer energy-efficient options for customers.

A rainbow pierces gray skies during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. United Nations

Climate activists stress positives of Senate climate bill despite its shortcomings 

Amy Rawe is communications director for Knoxville-based Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

KNOXVILLE — The U.S. Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), an estimated $430 billion bill, of which approximately $370 billion will be allocated to investments in clean energy and to address climate change.

It’s the single largest climate investment in U.S. history, and if it passes the House, will put the country on a path to be able to achieve roughly 40 percent emissions reduction from 2005 levels by 2030, reestablishing our influence in meeting the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.