Summary:
One year after the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law on August 16, 2022, private industry has announced at least 210 major new clean energy and clean vehicle projects across the country, according to E2’s findings. Based on publicly available information from 178 of the 210 announcements that included new jobs and/or investment estimates, if completed the projects would create at minimum 74,181 new jobs and bring in $86.3 billion in private investments.
These announcements are expected to drive a major boost in new clean energy jobs in the coming years, compared to clean energy employment growth before the IRA. Not including 2020 job losses fueled by COVID-19 shutdowns and ensuing economic crisis, clean energy has averaged an annual increase of 117,000 jobs since 2018. The jobs and investments estimated in the more than 200 announcements would represent a sizable increase in annual employment growth in clean energy and is indicative of a coming wave of job gains on the horizon unequaled in the history of the clean energy sector — presuming normal employment gains based on overall market growth, projects announced and in development before the IRA was signed, and smaller investments and new projects that are unable to be tracked by this analysis. In addition, only 142 of the announcements included a temporary and/or permanent job creation estimate — leaving one-third of new announcements without any employment estimates as of the time of this analysis.
Highlights
| States | Projects | Est. Jobs | Est. Investment |
| 38 | 210 | 74,181 | $86,320,800,000 |
* 54 of the 208 announcements did not include investment estimates and 68 did not include job estimates.
- Electric vehicle and battery manufacturing accounted for more than half of all new projects, with 115 battery and EV factories or expansions announced.
- Renewable energy companies announced 44 solar panel and equipment factories and major solar projects, and at least 18 wind turbine factories or major wind products.
- Red states and Republican congressional districts are benefitting the most from the IRA. More than half of all projects were in Republican districts, and 18 of the top 20 congressional districts for clean energy investments are held by Republicans. About 60 percent of all jobs and investments announced were in Republican districts.
- About 28 percent of congressional districts are home to at least one announced project.
- The top congressional districts for clean energy investments are North Carolina’s 9th district with nearly $9.9 billion, represented by Republican Rep. Richard Hudson, Georgia’s 11th congressional district with $6.6 billion, represented by Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk, and Nevada’s 2nd congressional district with $6.6 billion, represented by Republican Rep. Mark Amodei.
- The top congressional districts that would see the largest clean energy employment growth from new clean energy projects are Georgia’s 11th district with 5,660 estimated jobs, represented by Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk, Nevada’s 2nd congressional district with 5,050 jobs, represented by Republican Rep. Mark Amodei, and South Carolina’s 2nd congressional district with 4,600 jobs, represented by Republican Rep. Joe Wilson.
- The top congressional districts that are home to the most projects announced are Ohio’s 9th congressional district with 6 projects, represented by Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, and Georgia’s 1st congressional district with 5 projects, represented by Republican Rep. Earl Carter. Six other districts are home to four announced projects.
- Foreign companies led or were involved with nearly 100 announced projects. U.S.-based companies led or were involved with 118 announced projects.
- South Korean companies announced the most projects – more than two dozen. Companies based in Michigan, California, and North Carolina led announcements from domestic-based companies.
- Manufacturing accounted for 171 projects, 91 percent of investments and 95 percent of jobs announced.
- Seven states are home to 10 or more projects, including Georgia, South Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and New York. A total of 31 states are home to at least 2 projects.
Methodology
The data used in this report is limited to information made publicly available by the companies announcing projects and may not be comprehensive of all major projects that began development after August 16, 2022, nor be exclusive of projects that did not publicly disclose specific plans prior to the passage of the IRA. Projects that began development, were proposed, or applied for local and state approval before the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are not included. This analysis also does not include federal investments in which the federal government has provided financial resources for the complete project, lease sales, projects in which an announcement was made but lacked specific geographic information, etc. Details on projects came from news reports on new and related projects, press releases from companies announcing new developments, and government announcements. 156 of the 210 announcements include investment data and 142 of the 210 announcements include job estimates, making this information very conservative. Some announcements did not include specific locations that could be used to identify congressional district information.
For the latest full list of clean energy job announcements tracked by E2, visit https://e2.org/announcements.
Previous Clean Economy Works Monthly Reports:
About E2
E2 is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors, and professionals from every sector of the economy who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. E2 members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created more than 600,000 jobs, and manage more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital.
For additional insight into E2’s other reports, visit e2.org/reports.
Related Resources
- Clean Jobs America 2022 (August 2022)
- Billion Dollar Losses, Trillion Dollar Threats: The Cost of Climate Change (Oct. 2022)
- Clean Jobs, Better Jobs: An examination of clean energy job wages and benefits (Oct. 2020)
- Build Back Better, Faster: How a federal stimulus focusing on clean energy can create millions of jobs and restart America’s economy (July 2020)
- Help Wanted: Diversity in Clean Energy (Sept. 2021)