Thursday, March 28, 2024

What’s the Truth About Green Energy Development in the Inflation Reduction Act?

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The so-called “” (IRA) is being hailed as the federal 's  most significant investment in the fight against climate to date.

That's the hype. What's the ground truth about all those money – tax incentives and rebates and such – for development? Don't get your hopes up. (RELATED: Unpacking the Impact of the Inflation Reduction Act)

As the R Street Institute's Devin Hartman writes, there are a lot of bureaucratic roadblocks standing in the way of a greener grid:

A closer look reveals that the main secular headwinds are all regulatory, putting aside episodic issues like supply chain disruption. Renewables developers say that new generator interconnection processes are the biggest barrier to renewables development, and the data make a strong case. The operator of the largest wholesale electricity market is so backlogged that it expects to start reviewing interconnection applications filed this past year beginning in 2026. Depending on who you ask in the industry, permitting/siting and transmission congestion/generator curtailment are jockeying for second and third place. Permitting alone takes four years on average and, in some cases, decades.

This does not even get into the additional intricacies of land use, grid reliability and expansion that renewable developers say are underappreciated.

Of course, none of that was in the marketing materials for the IRA. Even had it been, there's no indication Democrats would have voted against it. They've got an election facing them, and the need to show their voters they have done something on the job overrules such niceties as whether legislation will work as promised. (RELATED: The Secret Sauce in the Schumer-Manchin Monstrosity)

That's how Washington, and most state capitols, work. Promise the moon and stars (or at least subsidize them) and hope no one asks how any of it's supposed to happen.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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Norman Leahy
Norman Leahy
Norman Leahy has written about national and Virginia politics for more than 30 years with outlets ranging from The Washington Post to BearingDrift.com. A consulting writer, editor, recovering think tank executive and campaign operative, Norman lives in Virginia.

8 COMMENTS

  1. Just another way to waist taxpayers money for garbage the filters on any cole use is so good a 1000 times better than these ugly useless fans calf. Has hundreds of thousands fan solar panels can’t even keep one city 24-7 365 days how dum are you idiots out there, and the earth is doing what it does every so often we just need to adapt be ready to move if necessary you people are so gullible believe these lying politicians scientists that are just using fear tactics

  2. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns formerly headed an influential D.C. think tank while it employed undisclosed Chinese Communist Party members as well as individuals with Chinese government ties.

  3. These bill need executed along with these criminals that past it and anyone that take a job with the irs as well this is Not Allowed in America and we have to stop these one world order criminals now starting with obama soros politicians judges police

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