US President Joe Biden has signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, marking the country’s most ambitious climate policy to date.
The law injects capital and incentives to address climate change and is a “starting gun” for a period of regulatory certainty which will triple the size of the US clean energy industry and generate over $900bn in economic activity through construction of new clean energy projects, according to the American Clean Power Association.
Liz Burdock, CEO of the Business Network for Offshore Wind said that together the IRA and the and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will “lure investment away from expanding Asian and European markets and unlock a US domestic supply chain capable of sustaining a 110GW plus US offshore wind market and maximising economic development”.
American Clean Power Association CEO Heather Zichal added: “With the stroke of the pen, a clean energy future is now the law of the land.
“This law will put millions more Americans to work, ensure clean, renewable and reliable domestic energy is powering every American home, and save American consumers money.”
Over the past year, Congress and the Biden-Harris administration have passed the IRA and the IIJA.
The acts target investment into new manufacturing centres and port upgrades, begin the transformation of the national electric grid, and bring new confidence to the US market, allowing the industry to meet the 30GW goal and transforming the U.S. into a global centre for offshore wind, according to the Business Network for Offshore Wind.
Burdock added: “The world is fully embracing offshore wind and racing ahead to deploy 260GW by 2030; the IRA is the policy certainty required to build a US offshore wind industry ready to compete in and win the race in global offshore wind development.
“We applaud Congress and the Biden-Harris administration for taking bold action to increase clean energy production at home and making the United States more competitive on the global stage, creating tens of thousands of well-paying jobs in the process.”