It has been one year since the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act became law, and Pennsylvania is seeing and using some of the funding.

The groundbreaking law directs $370 billion to clean-energy efforts through tax incentives, grants and loan guarantees. The Keystone State has set a goal of using 100% clean energy by 2050, and the law is helping to make it a reality.

Annie Regan, campaign director for the environmental watchdog group PennFuture, said together, the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have brought more than $300 million to Pennsylvania.

She pointed out a variety of projects are already benefiting from the funding.

"We also know the Inflation Reduction Act is lowering energy costs for families in Pennsylvania, with estimates ranging from $300 to $1,800 in annual savings," Regan observed. "Folks will notice -- within this year, in the next couple of years, especially -- that their energy bills will become lower and more affordable."

Regan added the funding has already added 64 electric school buses in seven school districts in the state, with more than $19 million in rebates. Republican opponents of the Inflation Reduction Act have cited concerns about the U.S. budget deficit and the effect on jobs in the oil and gas sector.

Regan explained funding from the law puts the Keystone State on the cusp of a Green Revolution, which promises not only cleaner skies, but economic growth and opportunities.

"It's going to bring an estimated $270 million of investment in large-scale, clean power generation and storage to Pennsylvania by 2030," Regan outlined. "It's going to provide $30 billion in tax credits to accelerate domestic production of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and critical minerals processing."

Regan added her group, along with ReImagine Appalachia, are working to make sure the states in their region are all taking advantage of the federal funding for renewable energy opportunities, affecting communities in need.

"We want to create good-paying, family-sustaining union jobs with these federal climate investments," Regan emphasized. "I think that's where we've seen a pivot in the environmental movement, of not just employing clean energy, but making sure it's done right, using union labor."

The massive law also includes money to update the nation's power transmission systems, and tax credits for projects using American-made steel and iron, which should result in more jobs in those fields.

China-based company Ebon International will not be getting discounted energy prices for its proposed cryptomining facility in eastern Kentucky, the state's regulators announced.

The Public Service Commission is also expected to issue a decision this month on rate discounts for another cryptomining facility in Hatfield.

Thom Cmar, senior attorney for the environmental law firm Earthjustice, explained the special contract Ebon and Kentucky Power lobbied for would have given the company millions of dollars in subsidies. The problem, he said, is cryptomining is energy intensive, strains electric grids and would have likely resulted in rate increases passed on to residents.

"The Kentucky Public Service Commission just thought this was too risky of a contract, at a time when Kentucky Power itself has had trouble serving its existing customers," Cmar noted.

Under state law, utilities are allowed to offer special rates as an incentive for businesses. Supporters argued energy discounts help attract companies to bring jobs and other economic benefits to the utility's service area.

But Cmar countered cryptomining is a boom-and-bust industry, with no track record of providing good-paying jobs for the long haul.

"These facilities are potentially 'here today, gone tomorrow,' as it's entirely dependent on the price of these international cryptocurrency markets for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies," Cmar stressed.

Cmar added advocacy groups have been urging Kentucky utilities to double down on the availability of federal funding to support renewable energy development throughout the state.

"We're talking at a time when Kentucky Power has proposed a massive new rate increase on its residential customers," Cmar pointed out. "The reason for that is because they've had trouble planning around a transition away from coal."

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act included billions of dollars in tax credits, loans, grants and other financial assistance to state utilities for clean-energy initiatives.


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