A coalition of 17 attorneys general led by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell sent a letter urging Congressional leaders to safeguard the investments that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has supported across the country. The AGs highlight the benefits of the IRA to states across the political spectrum in improving domestic energy security, decreasing energy costs, supporting manufacturing, modernizing infrastructure, creating well-paying jobs, and reducing pollution. The IRA has had a “catalytic impact,” according to a Rhodium Group report that details the significant private investment in clean technologies that have been encouraged by the IRA.
The AGs spotlight examples of communities experiencing these benefits. For example, a new battery factory near Atlanta, Georgia, will create 3,500 jobs, and a new battery manufacturing plant near Charleston, South Carolina, will create 1,500 jobs. In Pueblo, Colorado, the world’s largest manufacturing plant for wind turbine towers is expected to employ over 1,000 people by 2026. The city of Pueblo had previously only added 5,000 jobs since 2008. The AGs urged Congress to protect the incentives that are helping sustain projects in clean energy manufacturing and the accompanying energy security, reliability, and affordability.
The AGs also called for the protection of grant and loan programs under the IRA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that are helping towns and cities across the nation boost their economies and repair critical infrastructure. For example, Alaska Native communities are using grants to build solar arrays and battery storage systems to be owned locally and put revenue back into the communities; these remote communities otherwise rely on standalone diesel generators for power. Communities in Mississippi and Georgia received funding to build community resilience hubs. Supported by microgrids, the hubs will provide emergency services, such as supplies, reliable drinking water, charging stations and refrigeration for medication. A solar-powered resilience center in Texas will serve as a cooling center during heat waves and power outages, and the project also includes planting over a thousand trees to provide shade for residents and reduce the heat island effect.
The AGs emphasize that most of the IRA’s benefits are yet to be seen, as businesses, organizations and state and local governments await grant funds. Similarly, businesses are already spending money towards the IRA’s goals while awaiting the finalization of loans promised to them.
“The promise of the Inflation Reduction Act is extraordinary. It supports an equitable transition to a clean-energy economy while driving historic reinvestments in the jobs and infrastructure on which our communities depend,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. “I am proud to lead this coalition to urge Congress to recognize the significance of this law to all of our communities.”
The attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin joined AG Campbell in sending today’s letter.
News item from the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center
