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FOCUS: Foreign investments in U.S. soaring thanks to IRA – especially from Europe

With bipartisan agreement finally reached on the debt ceiling, the threat of the U.S. either defaulting on its debts or repealing Inflation Reduction Act investments and tax credits responsible for driving a mammoth economic boom is behind us – at least for now.

That’s good news for the nearly 200 major clean energy and clean transportation projects and factories announced since the IRA’s passage – including 13 just last month – that suddenly faced uncertainty when the IRA was tossed around as a debt ceiling bargaining chip.

And it’s also good news for foreign companies which continue to reap benefits from investing in America. Nearly half the clean energy projects announced in May – including the majority of all expected new jobs – came from companies based in Europe.

It’s the kind of race to the top where everyone wins.

But what does all this international competition mean? America’s clean energy economy is vital to global economic growth, and in many industries helping decarbonize the world, the U.S. has staked its claim as a global leader.

Norwegian hydrogen electrolyzer manufacturer Nel, for instance, announced a $400 million project in Michigan. “I can tell you as a European, [the IRA] does work,” CEO Håkon Volldal said at an investment summit covered by the Detroit News. “Some of our largest orders are now coming from the United States, and we as a supplier want to be close to our customers.”

Other European companies announcing new U.S. projects last month include Italian energy giant Enel’s $1 billion solar manufacturing facility in Oklahoma (the largest single investment in the state’s history); a Portuguese company that plans to manufacture steel tubing for the solar industry in Tennessee and a Spanish electrical engineering business that credited federal EV provisions with its decision to expand a 140,000-square-foot production facility in Milwaukee.

Europe had a big month for investment in the U.S. clean economy, but since it was signed into law last summer, the IRA has attracted investments from around the world. Just look at Toyota’s $2.1 billion investment expanding EV manufacturing in North Carolina, or South Korea-owned QCells’ $2.5 billion investment to build a new solar manufacturing plant in Georgia.

Not long ago, America was exporting jobs to other countries; now, foreign companies are investing here, in clean energy, in clean transportation and in American workers.

Members of Congress should recognize that the clean energy revolution spurred on by the IRA – and the steady stream of foreign investments it’s attracting to America – is making our country more competitive in the industries that will drive global economic growth for decades to come.

SPOTLIGHT

AMANDA GODWARD
Owner/Chief Energy Engineer
Ecotelligent Homes
E2 member
Farmington, Michigan

What does your company do?
We evaluate how energy is used in homes and make recommendations for how to be more energy efficient. We send crews to homes to implement the improvements we’ve identified, whether it’s updating insulation or installing a new heat-pump system that uses electricity instead of natural gas to heat a home.

How many homes have you upgraded so far this year?
Ecotelligent Homes has upgraded thousands of homes in metro Detroit over the past 13 years. It’s hard to come across a client who doesn’t want to make improvements that lower their utility bill and make their house more comfortable. After all, it’s important to have a warm house in the winter and a cool house in the summer!

Have you been hiring more staff?
Yes. We have three full crews of 15 people on staff and we’re hiring more. We’ve already added four new staff members and plan to add at least three more before the end of this year. I bring people onto my team who have never swung a hammer before, but through this work, they enter meaningful careers where they can make tangible impact in our clients’ lives.

How has the IRA impacted your company?
My company started as a side hustle more than a decade ago when I was still a mechanical engineer in the auto industry. We’ve steadily grown since 2009, but when the clean energy tax credits were passed by Congress last summer in the Inflation Reduction Act, I’ve been getting a lot more calls from old and new clients asking how they can benefit. The stability of the federal investments through the IRA and the longevity in the nation’s focus on a clean energy future is really driving much more demand from homeowners who want to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades.

Does the IRA help your company overcome any obstacles to growth you had been encountering?
For lots of people, the upfront cost of home energy efficiency improvements can still be a barrier. That can be true even if you know you will get your money back over time through lower utility costs. For these homeowners, federal tax credits and rebates make a world of difference. As home energy upgrades become more accessible to more people, the industry will grow – and along with it, jobs.

Big companies have been attracting lots of attention for major announcements in Michigan. What’s happening with the IRA and small businesses in your state?
Huge investments are making headlines for all the great jobs they promise to create in electric vehicles, batteries and chip manufacturing. But I think what is being missed are the thousands of skilled trades jobs that the IRA investment is also helping to support at smaller employers like us. It’s really giving smaller employers the confidence to grow. Over the next five years, we’re projecting even more growth. To support small business, Michigan lawmakers should keep moving full-steam ahead toward a clean economy – and at the same time push back hard against any efforts to roll back the clean economy incentives passed last year.

OPPORTUNITIES

Biden-Harris administration makes historic, $11 billion investment to advance clean energy across rural America through investing in America agenda

The Biden-Harris Administration announced the availability of nearly $11 billion in grants and loan opportunities that will help rural energy and utility providers bring affordable, reliable clean energy to their communities across the country. This represents the single-largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936. Read more.

DOE announces $187 million to ensure widespread and accelerated electrification of America’s transportation sector

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced a new $99.5 million funding opportunity in addition to the selection of 45 projects totaling $87 million to advance production of next-generation electric vehicle (EV) technologies, train the future electrified transportation workforce, and ensure the equitable deployment of clean mobility options in disadvantaged communities. Read more.

$45 million funding opportunity to advance tidal and current energy development

DOE released funds to advance a comprehensive approach to tidal and current energy development in the U.S. Up to $35 million will support development of a pilot tidal and/or current energy technology demonstration site in state waters, and up to $10 million will support a community-led tidal and/or current energy planning and development project. Read more.

Wind energy funding for offshore wind Centers of Excellence

EERE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office released a $4.75 million funding opportunity that will create one or more university-led Centers of Excellence to increase offshore wind expertise at U.S. universities; develop partnerships to address key offshore wind development challenges; and educate the next generation of offshore wind experts in the United States. Read more.

Workshop (June 14): Creating Good, Inclusive Clean Energy Jobs

DOE is seeking stakeholder input about a potential workforce program aimed at ensuring that historic investments in clean energy result in high-quality, accessible careers. Join this virtual workshop to learn about the program concept and discuss ideas about the quality of jobs in the growing field of clean energy development. Read more.

DOE launches new ‘Energy Earthshot’ to decarbonize transportation and industrial sectors

Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm announced the launch of the Clean Fuels & Products Shot, which aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from carbon-based fuels and products critical to our way of life. This is the seventh DOE Energy Earthshot, and it focuses on reducing carbon emissions from the fuel and chemical industry through alternative, sustainable sources of carbon to achieve a minimum of 85 percent lower GHG emissions compared to fossil-based sources by 2035. Read more.

DOE invests $26 million to support clean energy grid

As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, DOE announced $26 million for eight selected projects across 13 states and Puerto Rico to demonstrate how solar, wind, storage and other clean energy resources can support a reliable and efficient U.S. power grid. Read more.

DOE announces nearly $60 million to advance clean hydrogen technologies and improve the electric power grid

The U.S. Department of Energy announced nearly $42 million in funding for 22 projects in 14 states to advance critical technologies for producing, storing and deploying clean hydrogen. DOE also announced $17.8 million to establish a new North American university research consortium that will help states and tribal communities implement grid resilience programs and achieve decarbonization goals. Read more.

FOCUS: Drove my EV to the levee but the levee was dry

When the president of South Korea smoothly belts out the first verse of the Don McLean classic “American Pie” at a White House state dinner, you can be sure the two countries are collaborating on much more than just the occasional live music performance.

That certainly seems to be the case within the booming EV industry, at least judging from the latest batch of clean economy announcements tracked by E2.

A rendering of Seohan’s Georgia facility announced in April. It will manufacture auto parts for a larger, multi-billion-dollar Hyundai plant nearby. (Photo courtesy of Seohan)

Last month, there were 14 project announcements across 12 states that are expected to drive $2.23 billion in private-sector investments and create at least 1,821 jobs. One of those announcements came from Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp (R) announced that Seohan Auto Georgia, a Hyundai parts supplier, will invest $72 million in a new facility in Liberty County. The project is expected to create 180 jobs helping to manufacture shafts, axels and brake systems.

This is at least the 11th major clean economy project announcement made by a South Korean company since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law last summer. Ahead of the state dinner/rock performance last week, a fact sheet released by the U.S. Embassy in the Republic of Korea highlighted a few of them, including Hyundai’s new multi-billion-dollar plant in Bryan, Georgia (8,100 jobs, according to the White House), as well as Hanwah Q Cell’s $2.5 billion expansion of its solar factories in Dalton, Georgia.

Both these projects were previously tracked by E2. The new Seohan facility will supply Hyundai’s Bryan plant.

There are several reasons for the steady pace of outsized investments South Korean companies are making in the clean economy in Georgia and other states. One is the proposed federal rule that stipulates tax credits cannot go to clean vehicles that contain battery components manufactured by “a foreign entity of concern,” which is likely to benefit South Korea at the expense of China, at least for now.

At the same time, states like Georgia have been actively courting South Korean companies that are operating in the clean economy, whether it’s Seohan, Hyundai, SK, LG or others. Georgia’s collaboration with South Korea has been so fruitful that in January Gov. Kemp paused his State of the State address to ask Yoonie Kim, his director for Korean investment, to stand and be recognized.

In the months ahead, more opportunities – and challenges – are sure to emerge around foreign investment in the U.S. clean economy. For now, though, the U.S. and South Korea are singing the same tune.

Spotlight

DAVID COHEN-TANUGI
Cleantech venture builder
MIT Proto Ventures
E2 member
Boston, MA

David Cohen-Tanugi is a physicist, entrepreneur, French-American dual national, China expert and former NRDC fellow. At the end of April, he started a new position as the head of cleantech commercialization at MIT’s new venture studio, Proto Ventures. E2 recently caught up with Cohen-Tanugi to talk about his career, venture building and the Inflation Reduction Act.*

How would you describe where you fit into the wider professional landscape?

My specialty is developing and commercializing clean energy technologies. Almost by definition, that requires being a strong technologist and scientist on one hand, but also a savvy, real-world professional      with business and leadership experience. I try to bridge those two worlds for maximum impact.

What motivates you?

Two things: the end goal of a cleaner, more sustainable and more just planet, and the desire to make sure that scientific breakthroughs and innovative technologies are being put to good use to tackle climate and sustainability challenges.

How are you helping to make this happen?

I’ve just started a new role as MIT’s first clean energy venture builder. MIT has identified that while there is a lot of entrepreneurial interest among some researchers and students – with dozens or even hundreds of would-be entrepreneurs and teams and spin-offs – big swaths of the technology and knowledge portfolio at MIT are still not being applied in any impactful way.

My job for two years will be to identify the problems in the clean energy space that are the most pressing and that have technology gaps with no clear solutions today. If we then rethink how we approach the technologies, inventions, patents and capabilities coming out of MIT that are not currently being put to good use, that could have a tremendous impact on our clean energy future. At Proto Ventures, we’re working to commercially deploy breakthrough innovations that leverage MIT research and that will have a strong positive impact on the availability of clean energy. We want to use knowledge and MIT’s exceptional people to solve the world’s great challenges in clean energy.

How closely do you pay attention to the cleantech policy landscape?

Certainly, as I enter this new role at MIT and ask myself which problems are the most pressing, I won’t just be looking at dollars and cents and business problems, I’ll also try to get a sense of where the world is headed, where it needs to be headed and where the current policy landscape takes things in the U.S.: What needs to happen? Is there a big gap between where we will need to be, and what’s possible today?

What about the IRA?

The IRA has a big emphasis on domestic production requirements. I think that’s powerful politically, to make sure this is a piece of legislation that has staying power and has broad bipartisan support, including support from different states and different stakeholder groups. It’s also tremendously important that the IRA has a particular emphasis on growing a workforce that benefits from the clean energy transition and the growth of this new sector of the economy.

At the same time, America is a big part of an interdependent global economy, and different countries have a lot to benefit from each other’s competitive strengths and projects. So we need to find a way to make sure all the countries, continents and companies that are aggressively tackling climate change and deploying energy technology can leverage each other and benefit from each other, as opposed to being primarily in competition with each other, or else we just end up with a lot of wasted opportunity. That’s something where I think there are still a lot of open questions, and it’s fascinating to look at.

The IRA also amplifies clean energy venture building at a leading university like MIT by providing the long-term price signals that are essential for raising venture capital in the clean energy sector. The breakthrough technologies and cleantech ventures that come out of Proto Ventures will doubtless leverage the IRA to reach the scale and impact that we really need to transition to a green, clean jobs economy.

*This interview has been edited and condensed.

Opportunities

National funding opportunity calendar for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
This document highlights funding opportunities that communities can apply for today, as well as a calendar of key upcoming funding opportunities for 2023. For more information on the full set of programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including upcoming milestones, visit build.gov. Read more.

Request for Information: Scaling the U.S. solar manufacturing workforce
DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office released an RFI to better understand the anticipated quantity, quality and accessibility of solar manufacturing roles. The RFI will solicit feedback from unions, industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies and other stakeholders on the challenges and opportunities associated with a historic expansion of the U.S. solar manufacturing workforce. Read more.

Biden-Harris Administration proposes strongest-ever pollution standards for cars and trucks to accelerate transition to a clean-transportation future
The EPA announced new proposed federal vehicle emissions standards that will accelerate the ongoing transition to a clean vehicles future and tackle the climate crisis. The new proposed emissions standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles for model year 2027 and beyond would significantly reduce climate and other harmful air pollution, unlocking significant benefits for public health, especially in communities that have borne the greatest burden of poor air quality. At the same time, the proposed standards would lower maintenance costs and deliver significant fuel savings for drivers and truck operators. Read more.

EPA releases framework for the implementation of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
The EPA released new details about the design of the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a first-of-its-kind, national-scale competitive grant program created by the President’s Inflation Reduction Act. This program will leverage public investment with private capital and finance clean energy projects that reduce pollution and energy costs, increase energy security and create good-paying jobs, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities and places that have historically shouldered the burden of pollution. Read more.

DOE: $450 million to deploy clean energy projects on mine lands
DOE announced up to $450 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance clean energy demonstration projects on current and former mine lands. Approximately 17,750 mining sites occupy 1.5 million acres in the U.S. Repurposing this extensive area of land for clean energy projects could generate up to 90 GW of clean energy – enough to power nearly 30 million American homes – while reducing greenhouse gas emissions that jeopardize public health and pollute local ecosystems. Read more.

Biden-Harris Administration announces availability of $1 billion to help farmers, ranchers and rural businesses invest in renewable energy systems and energy-efficiency improvements
The USDA announced it is accepting applications for $1 billion in grants to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses invest in renewable energy systems and make energy-efficiency improvements. USDA is making the grants available under the Rural Energy for America Program, with funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. Read more.

Energizing Rural Communities Prize
The $15 million Energizing Rural Communities Prize challenges individuals and organizations to develop partnership plans or innovative financing strategies to help rural or remote communities improve their energy systems and advance clean energy demonstration projects.  The application period for Phase 1 closes May 24. This prize is part of the $1 billion Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas Program, created by DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. The program supports projects that improve the resilience, reliability, safety, availability and environmental performance of energy systems in rural or remote areas of the U.S. with populations of no more than 10,000 people. Read more.

Biden-Harris Administration announces nearly $585 million from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to repair aging water infrastructure, advance drought resilience
The White House announced a nearly $585 million investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for infrastructure repairs on water delivery systems throughout the West. Funding will go to 83 projects in 11 states to improve water conveyance and storage, increase safety, improve hydro power generation and provide water treatment. Among the projects selected for funding are efforts to increase canal capacity, provide water treatment for Tribes, replace equipment for hydropower production and provide necessary maintenance to aging project buildings. Projects will be funded in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington. Read more.

Biden-Harris Administration announces historic funding for 37 projects to improve safety, fix old, leaky gas pipes and create jobs
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration announced $196 million in grants for 37 projects across 19 states. This new grant program helps improve public safety, protect public health and reduce methane emissions from natural gas distribution pipes. The Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization grant program, established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provides nearly $1 billion in funding over the course of five years to modernize municipally and community-owned natural gas distribution pipes. Read more.

Summary:

New Mexico’s clean energy sector employed 12,014 workers by the end of 2021 an of 8.1% from 2021, the highest rate of job growth in the country. This strong growth was mainly driven by increase in clean fuels and clean vehicle jobs.

• 8.1% – New Mexico led the nation in clean energy job growth in 2021.
• 56% – Small businesses (<20 employees) accounted for nearly 3 out of every 5 clean energy jobs in New Mexico.
• Most Diverse New Mexico continues to have the most diverse clean energy workforce in the U.S. Hispanic and/or Latinos account for more than 1 in 5 workers (22.6%) and multiracial workers make up more than 1 in 7 (14.0%).
• 11.7% – Clean energy job wages are above state-specific medium wage.

Figure 4 // U.S. Clean Energy Employment by subsector 2021

Summary:

Clean jobs in North Carolina grew by over 4 percent in 2021, more than double the growth rate of the state’s total workforce for the year. That growth also demonstrates the clean energy economy’s strong recovery from the COVID-19 economic downturn and sets North Carolina up for even more clean energy job opportunities in the years to come — especially with the right policies in place.

• Black and African-Americans are under-represented by nearly 60% in North Carolina’s clean energy economy. Black workers occupy more than 21% of all jobs in the state, but less than 9% of clean energy jobs.
• North Carolina was home to 3.2% of the nation’s total clean energy jobs, 9th in the nation.
• More than two-thirds of the 27,217 clean energy jobs lost in North Carolina during the COVID-19 economic downturn had been regained by the end of 2021.
• Small businesses (<20 employees) accounted for almost 4 out of every 5 clean energy jobs in North Carolina, ranking 2nd among all 50 states.
• North Carolina ranked 1st among all 50 states in rural clean energy jobs, with 25,563 clean energy jobs in rural areas.

Figure 4 // U.S. Clean Energy Employment by subsector 2021

Figure 1 // Clean Energy Employment by year 2017–2021

Figure 3 //Clean Energy Employment by value chain 2021

Summary:

Billion Dollar Losses, Trillion Dollar Threats: The Cost of Climate Change reviews the escalating toll of billion-dollar disasters over the last forty years and provides insight into how these disasters—from hurricanes and flooding to wildfires—are compounded by other extreme weather events, such as record-breaking drought, heat waves, and rainfall.

The trends identified in the report are concerning for America’s economy. Every state in the country has been impacted and faces risks from rapidly escalating  weather and climate disaster damages, with a third of all losses since 1980 occurring in the last five years. From 2017-2021, America experienced its four most expensive wildfires, two of its three most expensive hurricanes, and its most expensive winter storm with economic losses from all disasters totaling $765 billion.

Billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in the form of hurricanes, severe storms, drought, flooding, wildfires, winter storms, and freezing have led to $2.2 trillion in losses since 1980 (see Figure 1) (NOAA, 2022). Across the United States, climate change is exacerbating extreme weather events and severely damaging infrastructure, buildings, roads, and cropland. Annual losses from billion-dollar disasters during the last five years—totalling $765 billion in losses and more than 4,500 deaths from 2017 to 2021—were nearly eight times higher than in the 1980s (NOAA, 2022). While billion-dollar disasters are responsible for an estimated 80 percent of total disaster-related losses, the combination of smaller disasters, heat waves, and ongoing business disruptions that are not captured mean the overall economic turmoil is even greater than this analysis details.

Climate change is not the sole driver of natural disasters, but it contributes to their frequency and severity. The world has warmed nearly 1.1 ˚C since 1880 (NASA, 2022), and warming is likely to exceed 1.5 ˚C in the near term, even with significant efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions (Pörtner, 2022). Each year from 2001 through 2021 were among the 22 hottest years on record (NASA, 2022), and record-breaking temperatures led to a new high of 130 ˚F in Death Valley in 2021.1 These extreme weather events have widespread impacts: a recent analysis from the Washington Post estimated that in 2021 alone, a federal disaster emergency was declared in the home county of more than 40 percent of Americans (Kaplan et al., 2022).

The frequency of climate-related disasters are rising, too. Between 2017 and 2021, the United States experienced its four most-expensive wildfires, two of its three most expensive hurricanes, and its most expensive winter storm (NOAA, 2022). The percentage of state’s total historic weather and climate disaster losses that occurred in the last 5 years is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 1 // Billion-dollar disasters across the U.S. are growing in number and severity

(data source: NOAA, 2022).

Figure 3 // Percentage of state’s total historic losses from weather and climate disasters in last 5 years (total losses shown in text)

(data source: NOAA, 2022).

Figure 2 // Billion-dollar climate- and weather-related disasters accounted for 80 percent of disaster-related losses, totaling $2.2 trillion from 1980-2021 (shown in $billions below).

(data source: NOAA, 2022).