Federal legislation designed to promote clean energy is significantly impacting job growth across the United States, especially in the South. According to research from E2, since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022, private companies and investors have announced more than $117 billion in new investments into 292 new clean energy projects. The combined projects are expected to create a minimum of 95,000 new jobs.
While investments are spread across 41 states and Puerto Rico, a big chunk of the money is heading to Southeastern states like Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Companies in the Southeast that manufacture solar panels, electric vehicles (EVs), and battery storage are building facilities that might require as many as 40,000 workers, Business Insider reported. That estimate is based on planned projects in Georgia and the Carolinas, as well as Tennessee and Kentucky.
Photo Courtesy Qcells
This work has the dual benefit of boosting the economy while also making the U.S. less dependent on foreign imports.
“The U.S. used to be relegated to buying solar panels and batteries made in China and other parts of Asia,” Bob Keefe, E2 executive director, told Business Insider. “Now we are making them here, and we’re making them at scale.”
Keefe said the Southeast has become a hub of clean energy projects and jobs for several reasons. First, the region has enough affordable land to build large-scale facilities without increasing development costs. Second, labor is cheaper in the South than in other parts of the country, and many regional workers already have manufacturing experience.
Keefe cited solar panel maker Qcells, which recently expanded its factory in the former carpet-manufacturing hub of Dalton, Georgia, Business Insider reported. States in the region have also shown an eagerness to lure new business.
“Southeastern states tend to view economic development as a blood sport,” Keefe said.
As an example, he pointed to the high-priority Governors, including Brian Kemp of Georgia, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, and Henry McMaster of South Carolina gave to attracting clean energy projects.
Photo Courtesy Qcells
As previously reported by The Business Download, in 2021, Cooper signed Executive Order 218 to establish a couple of offshore wind development goals — 2.8 gigawatts off the North Carolina shoreline by 2030 and 8.0 GW by 2040. Cooper’s office estimates that achieving these goals would power about 2.3 million homes statewide by 2040 and create thousands of clean energy jobs.
South Carolina has been particularly aggressive in competing for clean energy projects under McMaster, partly by offering incentives to companies that locate or expand facilities in the Palmetto State.
In late 2023, for example, the South Carolina Joint Bond Review Committee approved more than $50 million in new financial incentives for an EV battery facility in Florence, South Carolina, being built by Japan’s AESC Group, The (Charleston) Post & Courier reported. The project was first announced in December 2022 and initially involved an $810 million investment from AESC to build a 1.5 million-square-foot “gigafactory.” That facility will make cells for batteries used in next-generation EV models produced at the BMW Group Plant Spartanburg.
Photo Courtesy BMW Group
According to a press release from the governor’s office at the time, the original investment aimed to create 1,170 new jobs. However, following the latest round of incentives, that figure was upped to 1,620 jobs.
In Georgia, companies have announced at least 26 projects that are projected to create nearly 15,000 jobs, Business Insider noted. One of the biggest challenges now is finding enough workers.
“We’re confronting this workforce shortage because the U.S. has been late the game,” Keefe said. “China and other parts of the world have been at it for longer, and we fell even more behind under previous political leadership.”
Thanks in large part to leadership from the Southeast, American innovation in clean energy is catching up quicker than ever before.
The post Clean Energy Jobs Are Growing In Georgia, The Carolinas appeared first on The Business Download.