Happy One-Year Birthday, Inflation Reduction Act

Probably the most impactful legislation since the 1960s civil rights breakthroughs. From Vox Terra via YouTube

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The Virtual Power Plant Boom, Part 1

This piece includes an explanation of the VPP concept. From EV Equity Edge via YouTube

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The Virtual Power Plant Boom, Part 2

The Texas VPPs could provide the same amount of power to the state power system as a natural gas plant – faster and cheaper! From UON TV News via YouTube

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ORIGINAL REPORTING: The IRA And The New Energy Boom

Treasury Department guidance urgently needed to tap IRA’s clean energy ‘gold mine,’ analysts say; Billions in Inflation Reduction Act incentives can “hard-wire” clean energy into the U.S. economy, new data show

Herman K. Trabish, March 16, 2023 (Utility Dive)

Federal clean energy supports in the August 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, could transform the U.S. economy, analysts widely agree.

By December, announcements for “over $40 billion” in new capital were committed to over 13 GW of new clean energy, and 20 manufacturing facilities representing over 6,850 new jobs, the American Clean Power Association, or ACP, reported in December.

But by March 1, nearly 4,000 comments submitted to the U.S. Treasury Department by clean energy advocates and analysts had requested clarification on how investors can be certain of qualifying for the IRA’s new and extended tax credits, grants, and programs.

Many of the IRA’s boldest programs are “far from prescriptive,” and federal agencies, other regulators and utilities “will ultimately shape” them, Regulatory Affairs and Market Development Manager Erica Larson and Senior Director, Energy Business Development Justin Rodgers, both with global business consulting firm ICF, wrote in October.

A major hurdle remains. “The big job in front of us is implementing the laws we passed,” President Biden told House Democrats March 1. That will require Treasury Department rulings, expected in the first half of 2023, on IRA terms like prevailing wages, qualifying apprenticeships, energy communities, domestic content, and direct pay of tax credits, people preparing to do the implementation said.

But the IRA’s potential to drive game-changing energy sector transformation remains clear.

With the IRA added to 2022’s record-breaking generation from clean energy sources, the clean energy sector will be “hard-wired into the U.S. economy,” Amy Farrell, senior vice president of government and public affairs for clean energy advocate CRES Forum, said March 6…

Editor’s note: The domestic production requirements remain barriers to growth but overall the act is growing jobs and property taxes around the country. click here for more

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ORIGINAL REPORTING: The IRA And the EV Revolution

Biden ‘EV revolution’ delayed as utilities, carmakers await critical IRS guidance on Inflation Reduction Act; The Inflation Reduction Act’s EV ecosystem rules need clarity for customers, charger builders and global supply chain providers, analysts said.

Herman K. Trabish, March 17, 2023 (Utility Dive)

Editor’s note: Some EV makers have failed to qualify but overall this is accelerating EV sales and charger deployments at a record pace.

Labor, equity and domestic content rules in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act must not make it too complicated for electric vehicle buyers or force cumbersome sourcing changes on carmakers, stakeholders said.

With the IRA’s expanded tax credit and funding, it can move EVs “into the fast lane” by accelerating emergence of a U.S. supply chain and charging infrastructure network, a January Energy Innovation report found.

The IRA, along with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provides “nearly 30 times” the total EV funding in all previous federal programs, Atlas Public Policy found in September 2022.

But current rules include complexities on tax credit eligibility that could “discourage consumers and EV industry investments,” said Atlas Public Policy Founder Nick Nigro. And “eligibility will be more complicated when it includes requirements for battery component and critical battery material sourcing,” he added.

Clarity is needed, according to the more than 880 stakeholder filings with the Treasury Department’s Internal Revenue Service requesting guidance on how to implement aspects of the IRA, including comments from Ford, Dow and Samsung, .

IRS guidance on the IRA can create “a new future for U.S. transportation” if it “balances the needs of drivers, the EV industries, and the intent of the law,” said Electrification Coalition Vice President of Policy Katherine Stainken. “It is likely to be complicated but months of delay will mean little against decades of transformation,” she said.

Treasury must meet the law’s intent to renew the U.S. auto industry, policy analysts said. That will require rules for carmakers to identify and validate the complexities of battery component and critical mineral sourcing in ways that are simple for car buyers to understand, which is a challenging conundrum, stakeholders agreed.

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