What’s in the Legislation, Joe?

Coming off the heels of suspended solar import tariffs, it looks like clean energy has another MAJOR win! US Senate major leaders have agreed upon a bill (Inflation Reduction Act of 2022) that would invest $370B in new spending on climate change and clean energy. (This is especially pertinent after the Supreme Court's limitations on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate climate change.) Furthermore, this legislation will help with the nationwide inflation and create more energy independence. Additionally, this will be a great example for other nations to follow. As the global leader in greenhouse gas emissions, the US will now display some corrective measures to reverse or limit damage to the Earth. Hopefully this action can influence other nations to follow suit. There is a lot of debate and speculation about the full scope of the Inflation Reduction Act, but clearly all can agree upon an increase in clean energy production and tax credits for wind, solar, hydrogen, nuclear, transmission, electric vehicle, and energy storage.

Restarting Clean Energy Job Creation

The above news will certainly boost the creation of thousands of jobs across clean energy and EV markets over the next ten years. This comes as a welcome relief after the uncertainty of the solar module import tariffs slowed down project development, supply chains, construction, and job creation during Q2 of 2022. EnergeiaWorks reported our slowest two months of new business development in two years during May and June this year. Fortunately, we saw a solid shift in July. We onboarded the most new customers in a single month in company history! And it's absolutely tied to Biden's decision to wave tariffs.

Earlier this month, the 2021 National Solar Jobs Census (sponsored by EnergeiaWorks!) hit the press. After the pandemic slowed down job growth in 2020, job creation was up 9.2% as 21,563 jobs were created during 2021. Nearly every US state (47 to be exact) saw an increase in solar job creation. Please read the full report here.

Pathway to 1 Million Workers!

Earlier this month, I was asked to join the Pathway to 1 Million Workers: Tools for Scaling Workforce Growth panel discussion at RE+ in Anaheim hosted by Nicole Steel, Head of National Community Solar Partnership, for the US Department of Energy. I'm excited to talk about my 20+ year career as an executive recruiter and about leading the largest search firm exclusively dedicated to renewable energy. Join me in Anaheim as we discuss solutions for workforce development, recruitment, and retention in a challenging employment market.