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A quality control worker checks a solar panel at the Hanwha Qcells factory in Dalton, Georgia.
Elijah Nouvellage/Bloomberg
U.S. solar energy got a boost Wednesday after South Korean companies announced plans to spend $2.5 billion to expand manufacturing operations in Georgia. A clean energy adviser to President Biden expects more of this kind of investment.
Funding initiatives to combat climate change was a key component of the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act. The measures include a series of tax credits and subsidies that will pour billions into the clean energy industry, which some experts say could spark private investment that surges to trillions of dollars. I assume there is. In his September, President Biden appointed John Podesta to oversee his $369 billion federal investment in clean energy under climate law.
Podesta called the announcement that Hanwha Qcells will manufacture solar panels and components in Georgia “a big deal” when attending the Milken Institute conference in Washington, DC.. The White House has described it as “the largest solar investment in U.S. history” and a direct result of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The bill provides tax credits and other payments for clean or renewable energy producers, from solar panels to wind turbines to biofuels, and also provides consumer subsidies. Businesses are already taking advantage of incentives.
In November, First Solar (FSLR) announced a solar module factory in Alabama, the fourth in the U.S., which is expected to quadruple production by 2025.
The bill also increases tax credits for companies that trap carbon emissions from industrial plants and vents them underground, extending those credits through 2033. Companies betting on its technology include ExxonMobil (XOM), Denbury (DEN), Chevron, and Occidental Petroleum (OXY).
Last year, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing became a political focal point heading into the US midterm elections. Some observers have worried that the Republican-dominated Congress could delay the implementation of climate laws, but Podesta has dismissed those concerns.
“[Companies] is currently making a significant investment decision. I don’t see Hill willing to withdraw that support.” “They may go beyond one piece or another. .
Podesta said the bill’s focus is on building technology to help transition to the environment. “[We] I started asking the question, “What do I need to build?” That is the basic structure of this bill. You can go down the list of technologies, whether it’s clean hydrogen, more renewable energy, battery power or direct air capture. I think it was a game changer politically. “
In addition to these benefits, Podesta called the Investment Cut Act a “huge down payment” to help the United States and the world avoid catastrophic temperature rises.
In 2021, shortly after rejoining the Paris Agreement, President Biden said the United States would reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030.
Analysts say the Climate Spending Act puts the United States on track to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 40% from 2005 levels by 2030. What to do to close that gap and get that extra 10%. “
Podesta said people are experiencing “the effects of climate change right now.” The United States recorded 18 extreme weather events last year, each causing her at least $1 billion in damage, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This was her third-highest number of disasters in a 43-year record, and the third-worst year.
Last year, the U.S. average annual temperature was 53.4 degrees Fahrenheit, 1.4 degrees higher than the 20th century average and ranked as one of the hottest thirds in the 128-year record, according to the report.
California has been hit by heavy rains and flooding this week after another powerful winter storm system moved across the region.
“The current scientific consensus is that in order to stabilize the atmosphere, it basically needs to reach its net zero point by mid-century, and most nations have made some kind of commitment to try to achieve that. “It’s a bold goal, and it requires a transformation of the global economy on a scale and scale unprecedented in human history.”
Write to Lauren Foster at lauren.foster@barrons.com.