Who benefits the most from the IRA? – This Week in Cleantech

Who benefits the most from the IRA? – This Week in Cleantech

This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. Produced by Renewable Energy World and Tigercomm, This Week in Cleantech will air every Friday in the Factor This! podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s episode features Shannon Osaka from The Washington Post, who wrote about how districts that favored Trump in 2020 received three times as much Inflation Reduction Act investment as those who favored Biden.

This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week,” is Colin Hughes from Rebel, who just shared his bikeshare experience in Rotterdam, Netherlands with BAQME’s e-assist cargo bikes. He shared that the company had at least one bike within a 5-minute walk, and that the cost was usually under $5 per trip around the city. Thank you for sharing your bikeshare experience, Colin!

1. U.S. approves massive lithium mine in Nevada, overriding protests — The Washington Post

The Biden Administration approved a large lithium and boron mine in Nevada last Thursday. Some environmentalists protested the mine, fearing it could push an endangered wildflower, found only in the lithium- and boron-rich soils of Esmeralda County, Nevada, to extinction. 

The mine is expected to be a major supply for carbon-cutting electric vehicles, producing enough lithium for about 370,000 EVs each year for over two decades. In response to the protests, the company behind the project pledged to protect 719 acres of critical wildflower habitat to balance conservation with clean energy goals.

2. Cheap Solar Panels Are Changing the World — The Atlantic

According to a new report from energy think tank Ember, global solar capacity is set to grow by 29% this year, meeting all new global electricity demand. Last year, solar made up more than half of new power generation in the US. Solar costs have continuously declined over the last few decades, making it one of the cheapest power sources in the world. The world’s fossil fuel use has plateaued, and the solar boom could knock fossil fuels into decline by the end of this decade. 

However, the solar boom relies on the growth of energy storage to tackle the intermittency challenge and transmission capacity to efficiently deliver electricity from solar farms to consumers. A diverse clean energy mix that includes geothermal, hydropower and nuclear could also tackle the intermittency challenge. Unfortunately, none of these are keeping up with solar’s growth right now.

3. A new solar-storage project is powering Amazon data centers. It took 7 years to get online — Latitude Media

Seven years ago, clean energy developer AES filed a request for interconnection in California Independent System Operator CAISO. This summer, the 150-MW solar, 75-MWh storage project finally came online after five to seven years to power Amazon’s data centers. 

The long timeline is partially because of California’s decision to protect climate-threatened trees while accommodating renewable and housing development. This Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act made permitting more challenging.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

4. Green jet fuel producers are crossing a daunting climate tech barrier — Semafor

Aviation accounts for 3% of global carbon pollution, and it’s hard to decarbonize. Most airlines have moved away from carbon offsets due to concerns over their effectiveness and passenger jets are too large to run solely on battery power. Their only practical path to net-zero is through sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), which pack more energy per pound than batteries. 

It takes years of negotiations and planning to raise money for SAF factories. However, given the urgency among airlines to secure SAFs, demand is high, and now is the perfect time to attract investment.

5. See how the Inflation Reduction Act is affecting your community  — The Washington Post

Not a single Republican lawmaker voted for the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, but now red districts are experiencing the climate law’s benefits. The Post’s analysis indicated that districts that favored Trump in 2020 received three times as much investment as those who favored Biden. Western states with a lot of solar potential have also taken advantage of the climate law, with new solar and storage projects built. 

Overall, clean energy spending has skyrocketed since the IRA became law, up 85% compared with the two years before. However, not all clean technologies have increased production. Ooffshore wind has faced supply chain bottlenecks and onshore wind has faced permitting challenges, causing production to decrease since the IRA.

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