White House finalizes rules increasing clean energy subsidies fivefold in bid to support green jobs
Fox News
The Biden administration this week enacted new rules seeking to aid companies involved in clean energy, as the White House argued the investments will help communities tied to the energy sector that predate the green movement.
The rules establish guidelines for subsidies that companies can qualify for under the Inflation Reduction Act, so long as they pay prevailing wages, among other stipulations.
Qualifying projects involving nuclear, solar, wind and other green energy sources can see their tax credit eligibility under the Inflation Reduction Act quintuple.
“America has unleashed a clean energy manufacturing and deployment boom that has attracted hundreds of billions of dollars in private sector investment and created more than 270,000 new, good-paying and union clean energy jobs,” the White House said in a statement on the announcement.
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“The final rules provide certainty for clean energy developers and workers to realize the benefits of President Biden’s historic investments in the clean energy economy,” the statement continued.
“These investments are flowing to the places President Biden promised not to leave behind, including the historic energy communities that have powered this nation for generations and economically distressed communities, providing jobs and economic opportunity, particularly for workers without a college degree.”
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John Podesta, a longtime Democratic figure who advises Biden on climate policy, said in a statement the finalized rules reassure workers that “clean energy jobs will be good jobs,” as green energy has largely trailed the fossil fuel sector in that regard.
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su also praised the new rules, predicting in a statement that they will provide “real, tangible benefits to workers in communities across the country.”
In reaction to the announcement, a spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute said the oil and gas industry remains a top investor in the U.S. economy, while also supporting an American future with a lower carbon output.
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Meanwhile, a fossil fuel trade group leader told Fox News Digital the administration should not pick sides when supporting U.S. energy jobs.
“Rather than funneling taxpayer dollars to inflate the value of his preferred jobs, the president should stop his regulatory assault on the future of America’s oil, gas and petrochemical industry workers, and the millions of other Americans whose jobs are supported by these industries,” said Chet Thompson, president of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers.
Fox News Digital also reached out to several top Democratic lawmakers involved in energy policymaking, but did not receive responses.