US Senate passes bill with unprecedented climate change investment

The US Senate on Sunday passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that provides for USD 369 billion (EUR 361bn) in energy security and climate change investment over the next 10 years.

The package is described by the US president’s administration as the single largest investment in climate and energy in US history and its passage in Senate was hailed by clean energy industry groups. The bill extends and expands a number of existing renewable energy credits and creates new tax credits to support investments in clean energy technologies or energy generation. It seeks to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030.

According to the American Clean Power Association (ACP), the legislation could create 550,000 clean energy jobs by 2030.

ACP chief executive Heather Zichal said: “The IRA will lower consumer costs, enhance grid reliability, and strengthen the nation’s energy security. It will expand our domestic manufacturing base, inject nearly half a trillion dollars into US GDP over the next decade and create more than half a million new jobs – more than doubling today’s clean energy workforce.”

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said the bill, including long-term solar and storage tax incentives and investments in domestic solar manufacturing, is the “most transformational investment” in the US climate future.

The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) said the USD-369-billion investment in climate and clean energy programmes will “help deploy thousands of megawatts of renewable power, create hundreds of thousands of good-paying American jobs, reduce the cost of electric power, and finally put the country on track toward achievement of our climate goals.”

The Inflation Reduction Act, unveiled in late July, also includes healthcare, tax reform and deficit reduction provisions. It now must be passed by the House of Representatives before being signed into law by president Joe Biden.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.977)

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