Many of the nation's red states are attracting investments from clean energy companies as a result of the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act, even though the bill passed Congress with no Republican votes, and while politicians in those states have spurned the White House's push for renewable energy, an analysis of the projects shows.
The act, signed into law last August, allows tax credits and support for clean energy projects including battery and solar component factories, wind farms, and more, and investment announcements have followed, mostly in red states, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Out of 30 announcements that named potential locations, all but three were in GOP-leaning states, representing more than $35 billion in investments in batteries, as well as solar and wind components in locations including Georgia, Arizona, and Texas, the publications' analysis found.
Further, an analysis by the business lobby American Clean Power shows that red-leaning areas have the most clean-power generation projects that could benefit from the Biden act's subsidies.
Congressional districts held by Republicans have 82% of the battery-storage projects and utility-scale wind and solar farms that are in late-stage development, the ACP analysis shows.
States on both sides of the political spectrum are also vying for tax credits and federal support for the development of plants to make and distribute hydrogen, a low-carbon fossil fuel alternative, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Industry experts say the businesses are heading for red states because they have policies that are seen as being friendly to companies, including looser control on land permitting and cheaper costs for labor, electricity, and taxes.
Experts say many of the recently announced deals were likely planned before the inflation act became law, with locations and investment trends being in the making for years.
Further, workers and employers have been migrating in recent years to red states in the South and Midwest from the coastal areas, and companies are expanding where related firms have already had a foothold.
"When it comes to these investments themselves, they tend to be nonpolitical. Everyone supports manufacturing in the United States," said Scott Moskowitz, head of market strategy for Hanwha's Qcells U.S. unit.
Qcells earlier this month announced a $2.5 billion project for expansions to its solar-panel factor in Georgia, along with new components facilities.
The factory is in a district held by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has strongly opposed the Inflation Reduction Act and has often been skeptical about climate change.
Greene's office didn't respond to The Journal's requests for comment, and Moskowitz said Qcells has not spoken with her. However, he said overall, the elected officials of both parties welcome the company's investment.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's office, though, said the state attracted money "despite the Inflation Reduction Act, not because of it."
Industry experts, meanwhile, said red-leaning Sun Belt states also attract wind and solar power development because most get larger amounts of sun and wind and are less densely populated than blue states in the Northeast.
Manufacturers are also locating in places where the cost of living and salaries remain low, making Southern states popular for investments, said Corinna Frye, head of the U.S. clean-energy team for hiring consultancy LVI Associates.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, private-industry employers pay an average of $35.65 an hour in the South's mainly red-leaning states, versus $43.84 in the Democrat-leaning Northeast.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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