Summary:
This analysis uses the original $86 billion in estimated capital expenditures that companies announced in investments nationwide for new developments and extrapolates another $20 billion in additional capital expenditures for project announcements that did not include a dollar amount or required an updated estimate based on available information. In addition to the direct benefits of these expenditures, new modeling from BW Research measures the broader economic benefits and the multiplier effect of the investments and jobs expected if the 210 announced projects were completed over the next five years.
When these broader economic benefits are factored in, BW’s modeling for the 19 major Georgia projects tracked by E2 between August 2022 and August 2023 expects the projects to create or support almost 39,000 jobs and generate tens of billions of dollars in new wages, tax revenue, and economic growth.
These secondary economic benefits are far-reaching. When new clean energy projects and clean vehicle factories and thousands of new jobs come to a community, local restaurants sell more meals. Schools, police departments and local public works projects benefit from increases in local tax revenues. Local manufacturers and wholesalers sell more goods to feed the growing local supply chain. And small businesses such as accounting firms, construction contractors, landscaping companies and caterers see new revenue streams.
Together, these direct and indirect jobs and investments tell a statewide story of opportunity for domestic manufacturing, clean energy production, transportation and infrastructure modernization and American ingenuity, thanks to the clean energy incentives and investments made possible by the IRA.
They are also just the beginning as E2 continues to track new projects being announced every month
Key Findings
This report details the economic impacts resulting from the clean energy investments in Georgia that were announced after the passing of the IRA, allowing for a more detailed examination of the economic benefits that the clean energy investments bring to the state. The 19 major Georgia projects tracked by E2 between August 2022 and August 2023 will create or support 38,600 jobs, including 31,800 jobs each year during construction and another 6,800 jobs each year after that.
These private-sector investments and jobs will add $13.9 billion to Georgia’s Gross State Product (GSP) while the projects are under construction, and another $926.5 million annually once they are up and running.
Additionally, these projects will result in $2.6 billion in new tax revenues for federal, state, and local governments while under construction, and an additional $175.4 million annually after that.
COMBINED JOBS, WAGE, TAX AND GSP IMPACTS OF MAJOR CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS ANNOUNCED IN FIRST YEAR OF THE IRA
TOTAL INVESTMENTS INTO AND ANNUAL JOBS SUPPORTED BY CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS, DETAILED BY ENERGY SECTOR
| Sector | Total Construction Phase Jobs (Annual jobs for 5 years) | Annual Operations Phase Jobs (Annual jobs for lifetime of projects) |
| Solar | 7,639 | 1,723 |
| EV | 15,678 | 3,281 |
| Battery Storage | 8,443 | 1,813 |
| Total | 31,760 | 6,817 |
| Sector | Total Capital Investment ($billions) | Extrapolated Capital Investment ($billions) | Total Capital Investment ($billions) | Annual Operational Investment ($billions) |
| Solar | $2.65 | $0.42 | $3.07 | $0.30 |
| EV | $6.29 | $0.00 | $6.29 | $0.63 |
| Battery Storage | $3.39 | $0.00 | $3.39 | $0.34 |
| Total Capital Investment | $12.33 | $0.42 | $12.75 | $1.27 |
Methodology
This analysis provides a thorough economic prediction of the impacts of the 19 announcements by filling in the gaps of publicly announced information. Modeled impacts differ from initial estimates offered by companies announcing new projects, tracked by E2. Two of the 19 announcements provided no capital investment estimate and one provided no job creation estimate. Additionally, those estimates were inconsistently defined, lacking clarity on if they are direct jobs only or direct, indirect, and induced jobs, and if they were for construction or permanent positions.
To analyze these economic impacts from the clean energy programs and policies in the IRA, BW Research used IMPLAN economic modeling software to estimate the overall economic benefits from publicly sourced clean energy project announcements. BW Research developed a dozen economic impact models in total to represent six tracked sectors: Solar, Wind, Electric Vehicle (EV), Electricity Transmission & Distribution (Electric T&D), Battery Storage, and Clean Fuels. Based on this common methodology and assumptions, BW generated outputs at the national level, including earnings, tax revenue, employment and overall GDP value add.
For more information on methodology, see Appendix B in the report. For the list of all 19 projects tracked by E2 in the first year of the IRA, see Appendix C.
For the latest full list of clean energy job announcements tracked by E2, visit https://e2.org/announcements.
About E2
E2 is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors, and professionals from every sector of the economy who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. E2 members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created more than 600,000 jobs, and manage more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital.
For additional insight into E2’s other reports, visit e2.org/reports.
Related Resources
- Benefits to Rural America from the Inflation Reduction Act: Driving Jobs, Investment, and Economic Resilience (Jan. 2024)
- Clean Economy Works | An Economic Impact Analysis of Major Clean Energy Projects Announced In Year One of the Inflation Reduction Act (Nov. 2023)
- Clean Jobs America 2023 (Sept. 2023)
- Clean Economy Works | IRA One-Year Review (August 2023)
- Billion Dollar Losses, Trillion Dollar Threats: The Cost of Climate Change (Oct. 2022)
- Clean Jobs, Better Jobs: An examination of clean energy job wages and benefits (Oct. 2020)
- Build Back Better, Faster: How a federal stimulus focusing on clean energy can create millions of jobs and restart America’s economy (July 2020)
- Help Wanted: Diversity in Clean Energy (Sept. 2021)