Electric school buses. Air quality sensors. Community solar.
The developments are just a handful of the many benefits of the landmark infrastructure and climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, which turns two on Aug. 16, 2024.
The measure authorized $66 billion dollars in federal funding to be spent over nearly a decade for renewable energy projects, pollution reduction and toxic waste cleanup, electric vehicle manufacturing, and tax credits and rebates for homeowners and businesses looking to invest in affordable clean energy for themselves.
“This bill is the biggest step forward on climate ever,” President Joe Biden said at the time of the bill’s signing in 2022.
Much of this investment has gone to the South. North Carolina received billions of dollars in allocation of infrastructure money, including $500 million for renewable energy and pollution reduction, spurring an estimated 10,751 jobs in manufacturing and renewable energy industries across the state.
In Western North Carolina, multiple communities are benefiting from the IRA.
Nine communities on the Qualla Boundary will receive air quality sensors to monitor common hazardous air pollutants in the Smoky Mountains. Others are preparing applications for grant programs like Solar For All, which supports access to community solar in low-income areas.
Western North Carolina communities also received support from the IRA via the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program. The program, which awarded Cherokee Central Schools and Madison County Schools with new electric school buses, awarded $5 billion nationally.
Asheville is looking to pursue an electric bus fleet and cheaper solar, Asheville Sustainability Director Bridget Herring said.
“It's a great opportunity to get resources for clean energy in our community," Herring said.
Herring added that Asheville, in order to be competitive for grants, is beginning to work with smaller cities in western North Carolina. Despite political differences, municipalities have discovered they are stronger when they share information and work in coalition together.
“I think that everybody out there wants to meet the moment right now and be able to access the funding,” Herring said.
Asheville may get transit funding, too - including $3.5 million for research that could lay the groundwork for passenger rail service.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is headquartered in Asheville, received $85 million funded to develop research on climate resilience in private industry.
The benefits come despite local political opposition to the measure.
U.S. Representative Chuck Edwards who represents the 11th district said he opposed green energy projects spurred by the IRA. Edwards did not vote on the IRA because he was not yet in office.
At a primary debate earlier this year, Edwards spoke out against green energy policy, saying it was a “fallacy” being “rammed down our throats."
The Blue Ridge saw fewer manufacturing jobs from the funding than elsewhere in the state. The biggest manufacturer to receive support in the region was Cummins-Meritor, a $17 million electric vehicle parts plant in Henderson County. Further afield, the Piedmont Lithium Project in Kings Mountain received support as part of the electric vehicle supply chain.
This massive amount of funding has only just begun to roll out, however, and local governments are scrambling to take advantage of it while they can, anticipating possible change based on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
Former President Donald Trump has expressed a desire to repeal IRA tax credits and other incentives for clean energy, which could prompt potential fissures in Southern states that have benefited from the influx of new industry.
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between BPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Rep. Edwards did not vote against the Act as he was not in office until 2023, but he spoke in opposition to the measure at a primary debate.
