The following commentary was written by Charles Hua, policy analyst at Rewiring America; Ana Sophia Mifsud, a manager within the Rocky Mountain Institute’s (RMI) carbon-free building team; and Robin Lisowski, managing director of policy at Slipstream. See our commentary guidelines for more information.

The Inflation Reduction Act is an unprecedented investment in clean energy and provides a transformative opportunity for Michigan to move toward a healthier, more affordable, and safer future.

By signing this groundbreaking bill into law last year, President Biden directed nearly $400 billion in federal funding for climate initiatives through a mix of tax incentives, grants, and loan guarantees. Depending on household income, Michigan residents can take advantage of tax credits — and soon up to $14,000 in rebates — for making homes less dependent on fossil fuels and more efficient, including technologies like heat pumps and insulation.

But still, states like Michigan have a huge role to play by leveraging these millions in federal funding to invest in clean energy and ensure households are powered by resilient, healthy, and affordable sources of energy.

Michigan has already taken steps toward securing the benefits of clean energy. In 2020, Governor Whitmer committed the state to economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050. A year later, the state developed the MI Healthy Climate Plan (MHCP) that charts a path to reach a goal halving emissions by 2030. Just last week, Governor Whitmer was one of the 25 members in the bipartisan coalitions of the U.S. Climate Alliance who committed to collectively reach 20 million residential electric heat pump installations by 2030 — potentially quadrupling the number of residential heat pumps currently in operation.  The state legislature is currently considering implementing a clean energy standard, which could single-handedly put Michigan over three-quarters of the way to its 2030 climate goals.

Unfortunately, bad faith actors determined to keep homes reliant on inefficient and dirty energy sources would have you believe that Michigan lawmakers are wheeling and dealing behind closed doors to ram through sustainable initiatives without any public debates. But nothing could be further from the truth.

The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has been soliciting feedback from the public on implementation priorities for the MHCP, and Governor Whitmer has already signed several bipartisan pieces of climate legislation into law.

The benefits these clean energy initiatives will bring to Michigan households can’t be understated.

This June, Michigan paid the 11th highest rate for energy in the country: 19 cents per kilowatt per hour — well above the national average. This is even more harmful to low-income communities. While the average Michigan household spends 3% of its annual income on energy, low-income households spend upwards of 15%. Furthermore, in the Midwest the cost of fossil fuel expenditures for heating has steadily increased since 2019. We can expect for fuel costs to continue to increase in Michigan. A recent analysis of Michigan’s gas utility, Consumer Energy, which provides gas service to nearly 2 million Michigan households, predicts that gas bills will increase 49% in 2030 compared to 2021. This is partly because the utility plans to spend $11 billion in infrastructure investments in their gas distribution system between now and 2030.

By installing a heat pump, which can both heat and cool a home using electricity, the Department of Energy estimates that many American households can save significantly on operating costs. Households will have one appliance that does the job of both a fossil fuel heating system and a traditional AC unit — and does both jobs better. Heat pumps are more effective at maintaining a comfortable and consistent temperature, even during peak summer or winter days, and are 3 to 5 times more efficient than most fossil fuel heating systems. Households that heat with delivered fuels, like propane, are expected to benefit most.

Induction stoves are also safer than gas options. Induction stoves are also safer than gas options. 12.7% of childhood asthma cases in the US are linked with emissions from gas stoves, and cooking for just one hour can aggravate the condition. In fact, 75% of emissions from a gas stove — including the carcinogen benzene — leak even when the stove itself is off. 

Of course, Michigan will have to build out the infrastructure to support carbon neutrality by 2050. But doing so will mean jobs. Since the IRA was signed a year ago, nearly 200,000 clean energy jobs have been created in the Great Lake State to support electric vehicle manufacturing alone. In fact, the state is predicted to see a GDP growth increase of 2.5% above the current baseline growth rates by 2050 as a result of the clean energy jobs and IRA investments.  

Clean energy is the future Michigan residents want. More than half of Michiganders supported the IRA when it first came out, and a whopping 71% wanted the state to secure more federal dollars. A poll released in April showed 73% of Michiganders want their government to do more to keep energy bills affordable — and these federal incentives offer a distinct opportunity to do just that.

Federal funding offers the state a huge opportunity to bring in long-term jobs and help households switch to safer, more affordable, and more efficient appliances. It’s the future that all Michiganders deserve. 

Commentary: Clean energy is the most efficient, affordable option for all Michiganders is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

The following commentary was written by John Szoka. Szoka is is the CEO of Conservative Energy Network, a national network of state-based organizations focused on promoting clean energy innovation rooted in conservative values. See our commentary guidelines for more information.

Landing an automobile manufacturing plant is a major win for a state, both economically and politically. In March 2023 VinFast announced that it would invest $4 billion to build a new automotive manufacturing plant in North Carolina that would create over 7,500 jobs. This was widely celebrated by politicians of both major parties as a huge win for North Carolina.

There’s another industry on the East Coast of the United States that could lead to investments of even more than $4 billion for North Carolina — the construction of, and supply chain for, offshore wind facilities.

So far New York has established five active offshore wind projects and five active port development projects. These projects have brought more than 4,300 megawatts of energy development, more than 6,800 jobs, and over $12.1 billion in economic development to the state. New Jersey is not far behind, with a goal of 7,500 MW by 2035. The state’s competitive solicitation process has resulted in three offshore wind projects that have a total capacity of 3,758 MW, $4.67 billion in economic benefits, and include commitments to significant supply chain investments in New Jersey. These investments include a monopile fabrication facility in Paulsboro, New Jersey, support to small businesses, and commitments to two manufacturing facilities at the New Jersey Offshore Wind Port (NJWP). The port is expected to support up to 1,500 jobs and up to $500 million of new economic activity within the state and the region each year.

Northern states that are often at a disadvantage compared to southern states because of their higher labor costs and more onerous regulatory systems, are beating southern states through their significant effort to attract these businesses and jobs. What do conservative, southern states need to do to ensure that they capture the economic benefits of this growing industry?

North Carolina politicians and coastal residents need to separate the idea of having offshore wind facilities off the coast of North Carolina from the manufacturing and supply chain needed to build and support offshore wind up and down the east coast.  Those are two different discussions and two different opportunities.  

Like New York and New Jersey, North Carolina must proactively attract investment to gain the economic benefits of the offshore wind industry. Whether or not there are ever wind turbines off the coast of North Carolina, the focus should be on getting a portion of the manufacturing and supply chain for offshore wind. I’d be thrilled to get just 10% of the estimated $109 billion needed to establish a domestic offshore wind supply chain into North Carolina. That’s the equivalent of another two automotive plants. And that investment in North Carolina would be where it’s needed most, along the coast.

We can do that if we look at this opportunity just like we look at attracting car manufacturers to the state. We have many strong assets, including our ports infrastructure, our workforce, and our current strong manufacturing base. But North Carolina needs to show the offshore industry that we are ready to make investments and embrace offshore wind manufacturing and supply chain activities. Actions speak louder than words.

Commentary: Offshore wind is a win for North Carolina is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

The following commentary was written by Alli Gold Roberts, senior director for state policy at Ceres. See our commentary guidelines for more information.

As the harmful economic and financial effects of climate change become increasingly clear, investors and companies around the world are rapidly adjusting their business models — not just to reduce the risk and their exposure to climate catastrophes, but to capitalize on the industries of the future. 

That’s why, across the U.S. and in Colorado, businesses and investors are doubling down to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars in innovative and sustainable clean technologies. And as that technology has advanced to make it easier and more advantageous for companies to cut their pollution, policymakers at both the state and federal level have worked to incentivize exactly these kinds of investments — to ensure their economies benefit from this windfall as they build for the future. 

In Colorado, we have seen officials take bold policy action to accelerate the adoption of clean electricity, clean transportation, clean buildings, clean appliances, and even clean lawn tools — an impressive suite of policies that have helped the state keep pace with other national climate leaders. Now the state has an opportunity to trailblaze in another sector of the economy, one that has so far lagged in pollution reduction: heavy industry and manufacturing. 

Under Colorado’s ambitious climate and environmental justice laws, the state is required to slash climate pollution from industrial sources — like factories and plants — by 2030. To achieve that goal, policymakers are in the process of crafting what will be a first-in-the-nation regulatory program: Phase II of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Management for Manufacturers, otherwise known as GEMM II, will be adopted later this year and go into effect as soon as next year. 

At a time when cleaner products are growing their competitive advantage in the global marketplace, GEMM II gives the state a real chance to be at the vanguard of clean manufacturing. But to reap the economic benefits promised by this transition, Colorado must get the policy right. 

The sustainability nonprofit I work with, Ceres, partners with companies and investors to capture the economic benefits of clean energy and reduce the financial risks of climate change. Having done this work for more than 30 years, Ceres has developed a robust understanding of how public policy can best help the private sector achieve these goals so that they can benefit entire state economies. Even companies that are not part of the manufacturing sector have a strong interest in reducing emissions from within it, because they often rely on its products — from microchips to glass bottles — within their supply chains and know they cannot fully clean up their own operations without policy support. 

That is why Ceres recently submitted a letter to state officials outlining what we believe are the best ways to successfully achieve the goals of GEMM II. Chief among them is simplicity. Colorado is on the clock to meet its climate goals, and 2030 is coming up fast. Policy clarity is essential to helping manufacturers prepare.  

This is not the time to introduce complex programs that essentially allow manufacturers to keep polluting at the same rate. Instead, GEMM II should prioritize rules that directly reduce climate pollution from manufacturing sites, encouraging them to adopt innovative yet proven technologies that will achieve the program’s goals while better positioning industry to thrive into the future. 

The GEMM II program must also strongly favor solutions that reduce not only pollution that harms the climate, but also air pollution that harms people and often comes from the same sources. Air pollution is a serious issue in its own right, causing increased rates of heart disease, lung disease, and other serious health problems in nearby communities. Almost all of the facilities that would fall under the GEMM 2 policy are located in communities that currently suffer from disproportionately high levels of pollution. Beyond its health effects, the threat of air pollution to their health and livelihood is also a drag on local economies. In addition, Colorado law requires that these communities must benefit from GEMM II — and reducing their exposure to toxic pollution is a clear benefit.  

While GEMM II may sound like a challenge to some manufacturers, it should be better understood as an opportunity. New incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act and other recent federal climate investments, as well as state tax credits and grant programs for the industrial sector, have made it more feasible for manufacturers to clean up their operations. What’s more, they have also sparked a rush of investor and corporate interest in clean manufacturing, and a number of success stories as industry leaders move to embrace clean solutions. 

We urge Colorado policymakers to seize this momentum and help manufacturers capture the swelling interest by adopting the most ambitious version of GEMM II possible. This is a chance to set a gold-standard policy that will make the state’s industrial sector more competitive, its climate goals more achievable, its air cleaner, its communities healthier, and its economy better positioned for the decades ahead. 

Commentary: Colorado can lead the nation in clean industry — if it gets the policy right  is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

The following commentary was written by Marcelina Pedraza and Gina Ramirez. Pedraza is a member of IBEW and United Auto Workers Local 551 at Ford Chicago Assembly Plant, has been a union electrician for 24 years, and is board president of the Southeast Environmental Task Force. Ramirez is a Midwest outreach manager at NRDC, working to further sustainable land use and zoning rules that can provide crucial protections to areas of Chicago, like the Southeast Side, that are burdened with cumulative industrial pollution. See our commentary guidelines for more information.

Illinois is at the forefront of an emerging electric vehicle (EV) industry, yet the workers building this new economic engine are under constant threat of being left behind. 

Our community has been hit hard by the decline of the steel industry. Our neighbors who worked and still live here were left with a toxic legacy after the industry practically disappeared. After the steel mills that once employed thousands of people closed down, the pollution that was left behind has led to higher rates of asthma, cancer, and other respiratory diseases.

We now have an opportunity to do it the right way by making a just transition into a clean economy. We can take care of our environment and create good quality union jobs in EV manufacturing right here on the Southeast Side of Chicago where we live and work.   

There are a number of things that can be done to ensure a just transition to a clean economy for autoworkers. 

Above all, we need to make sure the state and federal government invest in training programs for workers who are transitioning to new jobs in the clean energy sector. These programs should be designed to ensure workers have the skills they need to succeed in these new jobs. 

We also need our elected officials to support transitioning our existing automotive manufacturing facilities into building electric vehicles and their parts. Federal funds are available to do this, and Illinois is already a major hub for automotive production. With the right funding and support, Illinois can be a major hub for EV production too. 

However, some companies are trying to use the transition to EVs to undermine the power of unions and drive down wages and benefits. 

For too long, corporations have pitted workers against environmental activists, claiming that we can’t have both good jobs and a clean environment. It’s time to put an end to this narrative. We can create good-paying union jobs in the clean energy sector, while also protecting our health and safety.

We must push corporations to clean up their pollution and invest in clean energy jobs and make sure that these jobs are good-paying union jobs that provide benefits and security for workers and their families.

We must also make sure that the transition is fair. Creating policies that encourage new EV manufacturing plants to unionize will give workers a seat at the table to bargain for fair wages and benefits. We need to make sure that the government creates a level playing field for unions so that they are not discriminated against by employers.

The fight for a just transition at the “Big Three” (Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis) is a fight for our entire community because the benefits reach much more than an individual worker at an individual plant. It’s also a fight for our health, our safety, and our future. We must unite and stand together to win this fight.

We should also boost investment in electric public transit, EV charging stations, and all green infrastructure that makes EVs more practical and convenient. This will drive demand and support new jobs. 

Additionally, offering tax credits and incentives for the companies and consumers will encourage more EV manufacturing here in the U.S.

The shift to EVs presents an opportunity to lift up workers and build a fairer economy by giving us a voice through union representation while also growing the clean energy sector. The Southeast Side of Chicago is a microcosm of the challenges and opportunities facing this country as we transition to a clean economy.  As a union worker and environmental activist, we know that we must unite to fight for a just transition to a clean energy economy because we are fighting for the future of our planet and our communities. It is a fight for good-paying union jobs that can support families and a fight for environmental justice and for a cleaner and healthier future for all.

Commentary: A just transition to clean transportation mustn’t leave autoworkers behind is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

The following commentary was written by David Wooley, director of the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California-Berkeley. See our commentary guidelines for more information.

The Gulf Coast’s power grid and economy share a common need: diversity. Diverse electric generation supplies increase power system reliability and resilience in the face of rising demand and extreme weather. Diverse economic activity supports employment, expands the tax base and boost overall prosperity. Offshore wind could help achieve both goals for the Gulf Coast region — if state governments act.

Offshore wind is surging, with over 700 gigawatts in the global development pipeline. European nations plan to install at least 120 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 and 300 gigawatts by 2050. China added nearly 20 gigawatts of offshore wind in the last two years alone. 

Those rising tides are also lifting American boats. On Aug. 29, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold an offshore wind energy lease sale for three areas on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. In July, the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind plant began construction off the northeast coast. Twenty-nine U.S. ports are being refurbished to support offshore wind turbine construction and maintenance. Factories are going up across the U.S. to produce offshore wind energy components.

A new report — 2035 and Beyond: Abundant, Affordable Offshore Wind Can Accelerate Our Clean Electricity Future — shows our coastlines have the world’s highest-quality offshore wind resource. The new report details a pathway for offshore wind to provide up to 25% of total U.S. electricity generation by 2050, while producing large economic benefits and without increasing electricity costs. It could help meet rising electricity demand from electrification of transportation, industry, and buildings — which will triple U.S. electricity demand by 2050.

The U.S. is currently targeting 30 gigawatts of installed offshore wind generation by 2030. Our new research shows that offshore wind technology can be 10 to 15 times larger than that by 2050. Offshore wind along the Eastern seaboard, Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, and Pacific Coast can supply more than 1,000 gigawatts of generating capacity with operational characteristics comparable and complementary to existing power plant production (i.e., more than 50% capacity factor). This would create hundreds of thousands of new jobs nationwide and attract billions in investment to revitalize port and manufacturing communities. 

The Gulf of Mexico is particularly well-suited for offshore wind deployment. The region could host more than 100 gigawatts of new offshore wind by 2050. With its existing manufacturing, port, and logistics infrastructure, and skilled workforce, the region could become a hub for new offshore wind generation. Many of the requisite offshore wind labor skills, ships, and port facilities can be adapted from existing Gulf offshore oil and gas industries. The Gulf of Mexico hosts most of the U.S. shipyards able to build wind turbine installation vessels. The region is already producing ships, turbine foundations, and steel components for offshore wind farms on the east coast. 

New research by Cambridge Econometrics finds that offshore wind could employ 20,000 workers in the Gulf region by 2040 and 60,000 in 2050. Billions of grant and tax-credit dollars are available to repurpose existing infrastructure for jobs and clean energy production. The areas appropriate for offshore wind development in the Gulf are so vast that large amounts of offshore wind generation can be developed without interfering with fisheries, existing offshore infrastructure and sensitive marine ecosystems. 

But offshore wind has far wider benefits than just jobs. Wind energy produced offshore can add large amounts of new electric power generation to bolster electric grid reliability — particularly important given Texas’ recent blackouts and near misses. Offshore wind in Gulf waters tends to kick up when solar production drops at sundown, and offshore wind turbines are less affected by extreme cold and heat events than land-based renewable and gas generation.

Several policy changes can achieve this potential. In the near term, the federal government must accelerate the identification and assessment of offshore wind sites, and leasing and permitting in federal waters. But state leadership is also needed to tap the Gulf Coast’s offshore wind potential.

Louisiana has shown its neighbors how to get started. Its 2022 Climate Action plan set a target of 5 gigawatts of installed offshore wind capacity by 2035, prioritized planning for transmission and workforce needs, established an interagency working group to address permitting, and enacted legislation to secure state tax revenues from offshore wind developed in state waters. Ports there have responded to the policy signals by making changes to accommodate offshore wind development and ships are being built in the state’s shipyards. Plans are in place to establish an offshore wind technology research, training, and technology demonstration center, but even all this isn’t enough to establish the state as an offshore wind hub. 

A recent roundtable event organized by C2ES recommended, among other things, that the state take three steps. First, map out the unique roles each of Louisiana’s ports could play in the offshore wind industry. Second, open public utility commission dockets to consider how to interconnect and provide transmission support for new offshore wind projects. Third, undertake initiatives to prepare its workforce for offshore wind development. 

Meanwhile, Texas stands in stark contrast, turning a blind eye to offshore wind energy, despite being desperately short of electricity during extreme winter and summer weather. The ultimate result may be that Louisiana’s ports and industries become the region’s offshore wind port and manufacturing hub for project development in waters off the Texas coast. 

Texas’ policymakers could take a better approach by actively coordinating infrastructure and supply chain development with Louisiana, and pushing together for federal dollars to de-risk port and vessel construction through revenue guarantees for port and ship owners.

Punishing heat waves gripped the Gulf this summer, straining the electric grid to its limits. It’s a harbinger of things to come. Offshore wind can supply large new power supplies and help make electric power systems more reliable. The Gulf Coast states could be global leaders in this new industry, building a stronger economy and more resilient grid along the way. 

Commentary: Gulf Coast could strengthen electric grid and economy with offshore wind is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.