Biden Govt Has Seen Over $160B in Clean Energy Manufacturing Investments

Companies announced investments in at least 450 new or existing manufacturing facilities for clean energy in the USA in the nearly three years of the Biden administration, totaling more than $160 billion, the Department of Energy (DOE) said Thursday.

The figures cover projects in the battery, electric vehicle, offshore wind, and solar sectors, the department said in a press release announcing an interactive map for tracing clean energy investments with localized details.

Among the country's 50 states California has the biggest number of clean energy manufacturing projects with announced investments since President Joe Biden took office January 2021, numbering 52 and worth a total of $5 billion. However among the list of eight states with the highest number of clean energy manufacturing facilities that have attracted investments under Biden, Georgia is atop in terms of value having locked in $32 billion for 31 projects. Rounding up the list are Michigan (38 projects), New York (30), Texas (27), North Carolina (24), Tennessee (24) and Ohio (22).

"Many announced investments do not yet include dollar amounts associated with them, meaning the investment dollars will significantly grow over time", the DOE noted in the announcement.

Succeeding a regime that quit the Paris Agreement, the Biden administration passed three major laws 2021 and 2022 that incentivize investments related to curbing planet-warming emissions: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in his first year followed by the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act last year.

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has sparked a clean energy boom in every corner of America, bringing with it good-paying, union jobs and new economic opportunity", John Podesta, senior advisor to Biden on clean energy innovation and implementation, said in a statement.

About the map, accessible on the DOE website, Podesta said, "This new interactive map from the Department of Energy is a great resource for understanding the widespread and important impact this [clean energy] boom is having on communities all across our nation".

Non-government research organization Rhodium Group LLC earlier reported $213 billion in total clean energy-related investments in the country between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023. The figure encompasses the construction and expansion of factories making clean energy, carbon management technologies and vehicles; carbon capture facilities; decarbonization activities in the industrial sector; and the purchase and installation of power generation tech in households and businesses.

The figure marked a 37 percent increase from the same 12-month period in 2021-22, according to Rhodium's inaugural Clean Investment Monitor report published Wednesday. "The most rapid investment growth this year has been in clean technology manufacturing, with annual investment growing 125 percent year-on-year to $39 billion", the report stated. "Investment in clean energy production and industrial decarbonization rose 15 percent year-on-year to $61 billion. Retail investment in the purchase and installation of GHG emission reducing technology rose 32 percent to $113 billion".

The Clean Investment Monitor is a tracking website by Rhodium and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In an earlier report Rhodium said the realization of USA policies in effect as of June 2023 can cut the nation's emissions to 32–51 percent below 2005 levels in 2035. That would still be below Washington's commitment of 50–52 percent below 2005 levels in 2030 in the Paris accord, a legally binding global treaty that entered into force November 2016 after being agreed to by the United Nations in the French capital 2015.

But with policy ramp-up at both the federal and state level, the USA may achieve an emission reduction of 42-57 percent below 2005 levels in 2030, Rhodium said in the report published July 20. This higher reduction scenario requires "additional rules for the power sector, minimum equipment performance standards, and repurposing discretionary funding at the Commodities Conservation Corporation for climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices".

"In addition, climate leader states ramp up to best-in-class clean energy standards, ZEV [zero-emitting vehicle] mandates, adopt low-carbon fuel standards, and implement other decarbonization policies", said the "Taking Stock" annual report.

To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com