North Carolina Construction News staff writer
President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act on Tuesday, saying measures will lower costs for families, combat the climate crisis, reduce the deficit, and finally ask the largest corporations to pay their fair share.
Biden heralded the Inflation Reduction Act for its record investment to cut carbon tax emissions and shift away from fossil fuels – nearly $370 billion.
The legislation requires the Interior Department “to offer at least 2 million acres of public lands and 60 million acres of offshore waters for oil and gas leasing each year for a decade as a prerequisite to installing any new solar or wind energy,” according to the conservation group the Center for Biological Diversity.
It also includes more than $4 billion in funds to help western US states such as California and Arizona cope with record droughts that have strained water supplies and wildfires.
Two primary focuses of the legislation:
Building a Clean Energy Economy
- Power homes, businesses, and communities with much more clean energy by 2030, including:
- 950 million solar panels
- 120,000 wind turbines
- 2,300 grid-scale battery plants
- Advance cost-saving clean energy projects at rural electric cooperatives serving 42 million people.
- Strengthen climate resilience and protect nearly 2 million acres of national forests.
- Creating millions of good-paying jobs making clean energy in America.
Reducing Harmful Pollution
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 1 gigaton in 2030, or a billion metric tons – 10 times more climate impact than any other single piece of legislation ever enacted.
- Deploy clean energy and reduce particle pollution from fossil fuels to avoid up to 3,900 premature deaths and up to 100,000 asthma attacks annually by 2030.
Measure include:
Building a Clean Energy Economy
- Power homes, businesses, and communities with much more clean energy by 2030, including:
- 950 million solar panels
- 120,000 wind turbines
- 2,300 grid-scale battery plants
- Advance cost-saving clean energy projects at rural electric cooperatives serving 42 million people.
- Strengthen climate resilience and protect nearly 2 million acres of national forests.
- Creating millions of good-paying jobs making clean energy in America.
Reducing Pollution
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 1 gigaton in 2030, or a billion metric tons – 10 times more climate impact than any other single piece of legislation ever enacted.
- Deploy clean energy and reduce particle pollution from fossil fuels to avoid up to 3,900 premature deaths and up to 100,000 asthma attacks annually by 2030.