How States Are Building Upon America’s Clean Energy Boom

When Congress passed America’s largest-ever investment in climate action in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act, it wasn’t just a huge step toward addressing one of the most pressing challenges facing our planet and its people. By design, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 also represented a major development for U.S. industry, economy, and energy security—which is why, even in a highly polarized election season, its clean energy measures have gained growing bipartisan support. The goal wasn’t just to fight climate change, but to ensure the tools we need to do so are built in America, restoring U.S. manufacturing to put the country at the leading edge of the energy system of the future.

And so far, it’s worked. U.S. manufacturing is on the rise. According to the organization Climate Power, more than $370 billion in private capital has been invested to build and deploy clean energy, creating more than 330,000 new jobs since the IRA passed into law. These investments are taking place in states across the country—from a massive $2.5 billion solar panel factory in Georgia to new battery plants in Nevada and Arizona to new investments in Michigan to power Detroit’s iconic automakers into the electric era.

States are positioning themselves to attract as much of this investment into their communities and economies as possible, while reducing pollution that harms the air and the climate. Here are some of the steps states are taking to fully capitalize on the Inflation Reduction Act and the clean energy boom it has unleashed.

Enabling Investment

Right now, the U.S. is at no loss for proposed clean energy projects. What’s proving to be more of a challenge is getting all the energy those projects will produce onto the electric grid so they can serve homes and businesses. We still need federal action to responsibly reform infrastructure permitting processes, but states are beginning to take action to speed things up on their end.

Michigan and Minnesota each passed laws in 2023 requiring the states to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2040, and the two Great Lake states have also approved legislation to reform their permitting processes to make it easier and more affordable to hit their goals. Minnesota’s new law, for example, is expected to cut by a year the amount of time it takes to secure clean energy project permits without sacrificing community input. With Massachusetts now on the verge of passing similar legislation, these states are making clear that clean energy developers will be able to efficiently deliver power to the grid—positioning themselves as prime for future investment.

A similar emerging issue that could also slow down clean energy deployment? Finding enough skilled and qualified workers to do these crucial jobs. States are beginning to take aim. At Climate Week NYC 2024 in September, a bipartisan group of 24 U.S. governors committed to collaborate on strategies to grow the climate and clean energy workforce—another important step toward enabling the clean energy buildout that promises good jobs and opportunities for communities across these states.

Encouraging Adoption

Other states have sought to double-down on measures in the IRA, such as electric vehicle and solar panel tax credits. Colorado, for example, passed a number of financial incentives to encourage consumers to transition to clean vehicles and cleaner household appliances, such as state-level tax credits for electric vehicles. The state incentives piggyback on the federal tax credits to give consumers even greater reason to adopt cleaner products that are more efficient and affordable to operate.

Additionally, states that are investing in building more electric vehicle charging are helping to make sure that driving an EV is an easy choice for consumers and businesses—not only helping them financially but also cutting pollution.

Enacting New Programs

State governments also have a direct role in putting certain parts of the IRA into action. For example, under the law, states are designing and administering new federally funded rebate programs to help consumers shift to cleaner home appliances. Leading states have been working closely with federal and local officials, as well as private-sector leaders, to ensure the programs are smartly designed to meet the needs of their consumers and businesses.

We’re beginning to see these programs roll out with federal approval. Now we’re excited to watch them take hold, giving consumers more options to affordably modernize their homes with efficient equipment that cuts pollution and supports contracting, HVAC, and energy efficiency jobs in all regions of the country.