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Released August 07, 2023 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) championed by President Joe Biden was enacted August 16, 2022, 12 months ago. That law directed about $369 billion of federal spending to measures to fight global climate change. The U.S. presidential campaign is 15 months away. Between now and November 2024, expect President Biden, who is running for re-election, to tout investments in clean energy made under the IRA as examples of "Bidenomics in Action."
He can expect to have plenty of support from clean-energy groups. One such group, American Clean Power Association (ACP) (Washington, D.C.) is keeping a running tally of clean-energy investments made, jobs created and manufacturing facilities created or expanded since the IRA was enacted. Over the course of one year, it said late last month, developers have announced plans to construct over 184,000 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale clean energy electric generation, with a total investment value exceeding $271 billion.
In addition, the group said, 82 new large clean energy manufacturing facilities were announced over the last year, which should create over 29,000 new jobs and $4.8 billion in energy savings.
"It's clear that clean energy has begun to transform the makeup of American manufacturing and investment," the group said in releasing the report.
Since last August, the tally lists 82 new and expanded clean energy manufacturing projects, which include:
David Pickering, Industrial Info Resources' vice president of research for the Industrial Manufacturing sector, disagreed with ACP's attribution of all these projects to the IRA. "Trying to show a cause-and-effect relationship between the IRA and these industrial projects is laudable but disingenuous," he said in an interview. "The IRA certainly jumped in and added to the incentives, but most of this planned project activity already was being considered at some level before August 2022. For example, most of the proposed EV battery plants were all in the works before the IRA was even proposed."
A case in point is Tesla Incorporated's (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Austin, Texas) Texas Gigafactory to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. Recently officially opened, that project was announced before Joe Biden became president, though the project was expanded in order to qualify for clean energy tax credits that were part of the IRA. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.
As for solar panel manufacturing, he continued, "the U.S. has been trying to reshore that manufacturing capability for a decade. The fact is that most solar panels are manufactured in Asia, specifically China, which creates several geopolitical problems and has for quite a while."
In what may be another case in point, First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona), which manufactures photovoltaic (PV) panels, recently announced plans to expand its panel-manufacturing capacity, though details were sparse. First Solar has been building solar panel manufacturing plants in the U.S. before Joe Biden even became a presidential candidate. The availability of federal clean-energy money--and strong demand--appear to have convinced company officials to announce several solar-panel manufacturing projects in recent months. Right now, it's hard to say whether this is an example of news-jacking or not. For more on First Solar's most recent expansion announcement, see July 31, 2023, article - First Solar Expands Panel Manufacturing as U.S. Demand Grows.
As for proposed plants to build wind towers, Pickering commented, most of that manufacturing capacity is highly fungible. "Those plants can be changed or expanded in 72 hours. In fact, that routinely happened a few years ago when the country was short of oil railcars. Several wind tower plants converted to manufacture rail cars over the course of a weekend. So, again, not all of these proposed wind tower manufacturing projects derived from the IRA."
Others were more upbeat. In an interview with the Associated Press, Jesse Jenkins, a professor at Princeton University and leader of the REPEAT Project, which has been deeply involved in analysis of the IRA, said, "It seems like every week there's a new factory facility somewhere" being announced. "We've been talking about bringing manufacturing jobs back to America for my entire life. We're finally doing it, right? That's pretty exciting."
In addition to funding for industrial-sized clean energy manufacturing sites, the IRA also contained a 30% tax credit for the installation of rooftop solar panels, allowing residential and business customers to self-generate electricity.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
He can expect to have plenty of support from clean-energy groups. One such group, American Clean Power Association (ACP) (Washington, D.C.) is keeping a running tally of clean-energy investments made, jobs created and manufacturing facilities created or expanded since the IRA was enacted. Over the course of one year, it said late last month, developers have announced plans to construct over 184,000 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale clean energy electric generation, with a total investment value exceeding $271 billion.
In addition, the group said, 82 new large clean energy manufacturing facilities were announced over the last year, which should create over 29,000 new jobs and $4.8 billion in energy savings.
"It's clear that clean energy has begun to transform the makeup of American manufacturing and investment," the group said in releasing the report.
Since last August, the tally lists 82 new and expanded clean energy manufacturing projects, which include:
- 12 battery manufacturing plants, almost exclusively for electric vehicles
- 16 windpower manufacturing plants
- 54 solar manufacturing facilities
David Pickering, Industrial Info Resources' vice president of research for the Industrial Manufacturing sector, disagreed with ACP's attribution of all these projects to the IRA. "Trying to show a cause-and-effect relationship between the IRA and these industrial projects is laudable but disingenuous," he said in an interview. "The IRA certainly jumped in and added to the incentives, but most of this planned project activity already was being considered at some level before August 2022. For example, most of the proposed EV battery plants were all in the works before the IRA was even proposed."
A case in point is Tesla Incorporated's (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Austin, Texas) Texas Gigafactory to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. Recently officially opened, that project was announced before Joe Biden became president, though the project was expanded in order to qualify for clean energy tax credits that were part of the IRA. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.
As for solar panel manufacturing, he continued, "the U.S. has been trying to reshore that manufacturing capability for a decade. The fact is that most solar panels are manufactured in Asia, specifically China, which creates several geopolitical problems and has for quite a while."
In what may be another case in point, First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona), which manufactures photovoltaic (PV) panels, recently announced plans to expand its panel-manufacturing capacity, though details were sparse. First Solar has been building solar panel manufacturing plants in the U.S. before Joe Biden even became a presidential candidate. The availability of federal clean-energy money--and strong demand--appear to have convinced company officials to announce several solar-panel manufacturing projects in recent months. Right now, it's hard to say whether this is an example of news-jacking or not. For more on First Solar's most recent expansion announcement, see July 31, 2023, article - First Solar Expands Panel Manufacturing as U.S. Demand Grows.
As for proposed plants to build wind towers, Pickering commented, most of that manufacturing capacity is highly fungible. "Those plants can be changed or expanded in 72 hours. In fact, that routinely happened a few years ago when the country was short of oil railcars. Several wind tower plants converted to manufacture rail cars over the course of a weekend. So, again, not all of these proposed wind tower manufacturing projects derived from the IRA."
Others were more upbeat. In an interview with the Associated Press, Jesse Jenkins, a professor at Princeton University and leader of the REPEAT Project, which has been deeply involved in analysis of the IRA, said, "It seems like every week there's a new factory facility somewhere" being announced. "We've been talking about bringing manufacturing jobs back to America for my entire life. We're finally doing it, right? That's pretty exciting."
In addition to funding for industrial-sized clean energy manufacturing sites, the IRA also contained a 30% tax credit for the installation of rooftop solar panels, allowing residential and business customers to self-generate electricity.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
