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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
These 5 Republican senators are fighting for clean energy — here's why
Five U.S. senators may determine the future of clean energy growth in the United States. As the Senate debates whether or not to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, these five senators will have an outsized impact on whether the clean energy boom we've been witnessing over the past several years will slow significantly — and it's hard to overstate the stakes. Since the IRA was passed in 2022, the U.S. has seen an incredible boom in clean energy production and manufacturing — and with it an industrial renaissance. If the IRA is repealed as part of the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," the result will be higher energy prices, a worse economy, and a weaker America. I researched these five senators' comments and how clean energy is transforming their states. Here's what I learned: North Carolina has benefited from $23 billion in clean energy manufacturing investments since the IRA passed. If the IRA is repealed, the state could lose 17,500 future jobs. Tillis has warned that an abrupt repeal would create "whiplash" for investors and "devastate" America's ability to stay an innovation leader. An immediate phaseout, he told The Washington Post, would "have a chilling effect" on "future investments" in the domestic energy sector. Alaska's electricity prices are 56% higher than average prices in other states. The state relies on diesel fuel shipped in from far away. Sen. Murkowski sees renewables as a way to reduce energy prices, create jobs, and achieve energy independence. In a recent press conference, Sen. Murkowski recounted her conversation with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in which she advocated for renewable projects in Alaska that were in jeopardy because of funding freezes. Do you think more places of worship should embrace clean energy? Yes — it sets a positive example Only if it saves money No opinion Absolutely not Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "We're coming to the department and saying, 'I know that you put on pause funding for clean energy resources. If you don't like the vernacular that we're using, that's fine, but look at it from the perspective of energy independence for these small communities and what independence means and looks like for them,'" Murkowski said at the Alaska Infrastructure Development Symposium. The repeal of the IRA puts a $4 billion Panasonic EV-battery plant in Kansas at risk. The factory is expected to create 4,000 high-paying jobs in Kansas. Sen. Moran has advocated for an "all of the above" approach to energy policy in America. In a statement to KSHB 41 News, Moran said, "I will support policies, including tax credits that will benefit energy producers in Kansas. … We need more investments in energy production, and tax credits are one way to bring production to the U.S., promote our energy independence, support manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and further investments in domestic energy production." He was one of four U.S. senators who called for clean energy tax credits to stay in place. "A wholesale repeal, or the termination of certain individual credits, would create uncertainty, jeopardizing capital allocation, long-term project planning, and job creation in the energy sector and across our broader economy," the letter said. "We urge a targeted, pragmatic approach that balances these priorities without undercutting current and future private-sector investments." Power prices in Maine have risen by 55% since 2015 — the third fastest in the nation. Developers have proposed 145 renewable projects that could reduce electricity prices, which are expected to bring $8.8 billion in investment, 9,100 jobs, and nearly 5 gigawatts of new generation or storage capacity. A spokesperson for Collins told the Maine Morning Star, in response to public pressure in the state to come out in support of the IRA incentives, that Collins supports clean energy and that "this issue is one of many the Senate is going to have to consider as it puts together its reconciliation bill." The IRA has brought $12 billion in announced clean energy investment to Utah since 2022, which could bring 4,200 new jobs across 50 projects. The IRA repeal would shave $1.34 billion off Utah's GDP and erase 7,300 jobs by 2030. Households would pay $289 million more for energy by 2035. At a recent visit to a recently opened battery factory in Tooele County, Utah, Sen. Curtis praised clean energy tax credits: "As energy demand continues to grow, we need an all-of-the-above approach that supports Utahns and provides the long-term certainty businesses need to invest and expand," he said. "In Utah, we've seen firsthand how smart policies — like energy tax credits — can drive innovation, strengthen our economy, and create real opportunity." Senator Curtis founded the Conservative Climate Caucus as a member of the House of Representatives and hosts the Conservative Climate Summit every year, a gathering of conservatives talking about climate solutions. Editor's note: If you want to use your voice to make a difference, you can look up how to contact your own state senators here — whether or not (and perhaps especially if not) they appear on this list. Michael Thomas is the founder of Cleanview, a platform that helps clean energy leaders track the energy transition in real-time, and the author of a newsletter about climate change, Distilled, that has been read by more than 50 million people. Follow Michael on LinkedIn here, where this post appeared in its original form, or subscribe to his newsletter here. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sen. Murkowski makes pitch for renewable energy's value in Alaska communities
Wind turbines spin in Nome on Sept. 30, 2020. Renewable energy has been embraced in much of rural Alaska as an alternative to expensive diesel-fueled power. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) In a political environment where the president and his administration are pushing for more fossil fuel development and scorning alternative energy, Alaska's senior U.S. senator is defending renewable projects in the rural areas of her state. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaking at an Anchorage conference on Tuesday, recounted her efforts to convince Interior Secretary Doug Burgum that wind, solar and other sources of renewable energy are valuable even in oil-producing Alaska. In a phone call Monday that lasted more than an hour and in which Burgum reiterated the administration's support for more extraction of oil, gas and coal and its opposition to wind energy, Murkowski said she made a pitch for renewable projects in Alaska that were previously awarded grants but are now in limbo because of Trump administration funding freezes. 'We're coming to the department and saying, 'I know that you put on pause funding for clean energy resources. If you don't like the vernacular that we're using, that's fine, but look at it from the perspective of energy independence for these small communities and what independence means and looks like for them,'' Murkowski said at the Alaska Infrastructure Development Symposium. The three-day symposium is sponsored by the state, the Alaska Municipal League, the Alaska Federation of Natives and other organizations. Murkowski urged conference attendees to help educate officials from the Department of the Interior and other federal departments about rural Alaska communities' situations. Unlike communities in the Lower 48 states, rural Alaska communities are unconnected to larger energy grids and often struggle with expensive and difficult-to-store diesel fuel, making renewables a practical alternative, she noted. Even a long-desired natural gas pipeline megaproject from Alaska's North Slope, which President Donald Trump and others are enthusiastically backing, would not do much to help rural Alaska communities that lie outside of any large power grid. 'It's not going to do a spur out to Togiak. It's not going to do a spur out to Kobuk,' Murkowski said, naming a Yup'ik village in Western Alaska and an Inupiat village in Northwest Alaska. 'So I said, 'Please, please don't forget the opportunities that come to our more rural communities that are more isolated who need to be able to access those resources that are there. And those resources may be a little bit of wind, it may be a little bit of solar, it may be a little bit of the of the run of river, it may be a little bit of geothermal.'' Murkowski's defense of renewable energy comes as hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of planned rural Alaska projects are in doubt because of Trump administration actions. The administration has frozen much of the infrastructure funding that was awarded during the Biden administration, including funding for renewable energy development. Last month, the Alaska Public Interest Research Group said it had calculated that over $1 billion of Alaska energy and other infrastructure projects were affected. As a result, some local governments, tribes and other organizations have delayed planned projects because they are uncertain about reimbursement. Such delays in rural Alaska can put projects at least a year behind schedule because construction work depends on delivery of heavy equipment and material by barges that can travel only in ice-free conditions As of yet, there has been little clarity on which projects will actually get funded and which will have to be canceled, said Murkowski and municipal officials attending the symposium. Murkowski said at least a couple of Trump administration department secretaries are planning trips to Alaska in June, and that might present an educational opportunity. She did not specify which cabinet members may be visiting. Trump has been dismissive of renewable energy and, in particular, hostile to wind energy for several years. He has claimed, without evidence, that wind turbines cause cancer, drastically depress property values and kill massive numbers of whales. His disdain for wind energy dates back at least to 2012, when he fought unsuccessfully against a wind farm off the coast of a golf course he owned in Scotland. One of his Inauguration Day executive orders earlier this year halted federal funding and permitting for all wind projects, both offshore and onshore. Wind energy has been important to rural Alaska communities, where diesel-fueled energy costs are extremely high. Kotzebue, a mostly Inupiat community, is an example. The Northwest Arctic hub, home to about 3,000 people, has been using wind energy since the 1990s. The system has grown over the years, and by 2020, wind was supplying a fifth of annual local power needs, according to the Kotzebue Electric Association. That displaced the annual need for 250,000 to 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel each year, according to the utility. The community has also been using solar energy since 2020, and it has a longer-term goal of using renewables for 50% of its power, according to the utility. Kotzebue, the Northwest Arctic Borough and several surrounding villages are among the communities with planned energy projects that have been paused because of Trump administration actions. Last year, during the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $58.4 million in grants to local governments and other entities in the region to develop more solar arrays, an energy-storing battery system, heat pumps and other projects. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
