According to an investigation by the Financial Times released on Tuesday, roughly 40% of the Biden administration's "green" infrastructure plans have been paused or delayed indefinitely.
President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act was passed in the first year of his administration and proposed more than $400 billion in tax credits, loans, and other incentives for manufacturers to jump-start American development in renewable energy projects and their associated supply chains. Yet, as of August, the outlet found that of the projects worth more than $100 million, a combined total of $84 billion have been delayed for months or paused indefinitely.
The companies holding the contracts said that decreasing demand for electric vehicles, a weakening financial market, and lack of policy certainty during an election year have caused them to tap the brakes on some plans for expansion.
Alex Jacquez, special assistant to the president for economic development and industrial strategy, said the Biden administration has seen "unmitigated new success" in encouraging construction and manufacturing jobs.
"Of course, we want to see these projects get up and moving as fast as possible. We continue to work to clear barriers related to permitting, to financing, where they exist," Jacquez told the Financial Times.
With public demand for electric vehicles taking a dip in recent months, many of the companies associated with their manufacturing have seen their proposed projects put on hold.
Lear Corporation was scheduled to invested more than $100 million to produce electric vehicle parts out of a planned factory in Detroit but has since decided not to proceed. Anovion, a battery parts manufacturer, has similarly paused an $800 million factory over lack of specifics regarding the IRA's electric vehicle regulations.
John Hensley, vice president of markets and policy analyst for the industry group American Clean Power, told the outlet: "There will be attrition. Not every single one of these facilities is going to come online."
The outlet conducted more than 100 interviews with companies and government officials, in addition to reviewing corporate filings, to confirm the status of projects.