The IRA Passed - Now What? Posted on Sep 22, 2022

The RE+ solar and storage cleantech conference happening right now in Anaheim, California is the largest cleantech event ever to occur in United States history. Over 26,000 people are registered for RE+. The conference sessions, meetings and buzz are both celebrating passage of the Inflation Reduction Act as the largest climate bill in U.S. history, and stressing that an immense call to action is upon us. This call to action is to protect the Inflation Reduction Act with political engagement at all levels of politics. As cleantech industry veterans well know, taking over market share from established industry players is incredibly difficult. A future president or Congress could take away the Inflation Reduction Act. Cleantech companies, entrepreneurs and customers of all types and sizes must engage politically and show the public how the IRA is benefitting them.

The cleantech solar and storage industry is still a very small pocket of the construction space - and workforce - when compared to other industries. The Distributed Generation (DG) portion of the cleantech industry is comparatively even smaller, and is composed of relatively small, localized companies and customers without equal representation or experience in state and federal politics. The slow, bureaucratic culture of utilities and governments are being challenged by DG's superior options for clean and affordable energy. This makes engagement in local politics and the press every DG company's power. The cleantech industry has a responsibility to push its state and local governments to utilize the funds and incentives that the IRA provides.  

CALLS TO ACTION 
  1. Tell your DG story to your local newspaper
  2. Learn where political levers are and how to pull them
  3. Get involved with your local government
  4. Join your local cleantech trade association  
  5. Have courage to break out of established systems to speak up and lead 
Take action and be heard