The IRA and Bipartisan Infrastructure Act Come Through
In March 2024, six billion dollars was made available from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (19 Republican senators voted for this bipartisan law) to fund efforts to develop cleaner technologies for industrial processes that are difficult to decarbonize.
“Recipients of the funding, which is coming from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law include 33 demonstration projects in more than 20 states. The initiative involves iron, steel, aluminum, food and beverage, concrete and cement facilities.
“Jennifer Granholm, the energy secretary, said during a call with news media that the technologies being funded are ‘replicable,’ ‘scalable,’ and will ‘set a new gold standard for clean manufacturing in the United States and around the world.’
“Ali Zaidi, the White House climate adviser, said this funding aims to eliminate 14m metric tons of pollution each year, equivalent to taking about three million cars off the road.”
The Biden administration also announced 20 billion dollars in grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was created under the IRA.
“The three selections under the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund and five selections under the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator will create a national clean financing network for clean energy and climate solutions across sectors, ensuring communities have access to the capital they need to participate in and benefit from a cleaner, more sustainable economy. By financing tens of thousands of projects, this national clean financing network will mobilize private capital to reduce climate and air pollution while also reducing energy costs, improving public health, and creating good-paying clean energy jobs in communities across the country, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
“’These two programs under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund are game-changing! They advance clean energy financing and solutions which will directly benefit communities and organizations that were previously left out of the renewable energy transition,’ said Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. ‘The $20 billion going to these eight recipients illustrates how the Inflation Reduction Act is investing today to secure a cleaner, healthier planet for tomorrow.’”
How nice to have the IRA. The gift that keeps on giving.