Policy & Regulation

The latest reaction as Inflation Reduction Act, climate provisions pass through Senate

The U.S. Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes nearly $370 billion on energy and climate change initiatives. The bill now moves to the House, which is expected to take it up August 12.
The latest reaction as Inflation Reduction Act, climate provisions pass through Senate
(Source: EarthJustice.)

The U.S. Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes nearly $370 billion on energy and climate change initiatives. The bill now moves to the House, which is expected to take it up August 12.

The surprise bill was brokered by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and announced July 27. It includes a 10-year extension of the Investment Tax Credit and Production Tax Credit for wind, solar, and geothermal energy deployment, a new credit for standalone energy storage projects, credits for new and used electric vehicles, and incentives for U.S. solar manufacturers.

“It’s time to move this nation forward,” said Schumer.

The Inflation Reduction Act could bring the U.S. in line with its Paris Agreement goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% from 2005 levels, according to analysis by Princeton University’s REPEAT Project.

“The Inflation Reduction Act is historic not only for the size of the funding for clean energy, but for the diversity of the solutions it supports,” said Lindsey Baxter Griffith, Federal Policy Director at the Clean Air Task Force. “The U.S. needs it all, this bill has a lot of it, and we urge House members to pass it immediately.” 

The bill includes incentives to help develop technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration, hydrogen and small nuclear reactors.

More on hydrogen and nuclear incentives here.

“The IRA’s support for both hydrogen and nuclear will help ensure nuclear energy can prove its use case for the efficient production of clean hydrogen,” said Jon-Michael Murray, Nuclear Policy Manager at the Clean Air Task Force.

Specific to the nuclear side, the act includes $700 million in funding for domestic high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) production.

TerraPower is one of the companies working to develop a next-generation, small modular reactor (SMR). President and CEO Chris Levesque praised the bill, saying:

“TerraPower has been committed to advancing the domestic HALEU supply chain through investments on multiple fronts. I encourage Congress to swiftly support this legislation. The U.S. needs immediate investment in the domestic HALEU supply chain in order to commercialize the next generation of nuclear reactors that are a vital piece in our carbon-free future.”