"Here’s Where Biden’s Climate Law Is Working, and Where It’s Falling Short"

"Electric vehicles are booming as expected, a new analysis found, but renewable power isn’t growing as quickly as hoped."

"A year and a half after President Biden signed into law a sweeping bill to tackle climate change, sales of electric vehicles have largely boomed in line with expectations, according to a new analysis by three groups tracking the impact of the law.

But problems with supply chains, obtaining permits and overcoming local opposition have bogged down one of the climate law’s other big goals: generating vastly more electricity from wind, solar and other nonpolluting sources. Even though the United States added record amounts of renewable power and batteries last year, that rapid growth fell short of the levels needed to meet the country’s goals for slashing the emissions that are rapidly heating the planet, the analysis said.

When the law, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, was approved in 2022, analysts predicted that it would help cut America’s greenhouse gas emissions roughly 40 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The measure contains hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits and spending for clean energy technologies like wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles and hydrogen fuels.

The law is meeting expectations in some areas and falling short in others, according to the new assessment by researchers from the Princeton-led REPEAT project, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, the research firm Rhodium Group, and Energy Innovation, a nonprofit organization.”"

Brad Plumer reports for the New York Times February 21, 2024.

SEE ALSO:

"US Climate Goals: EVs Are On Track, But Clean Power Is Lagging" (Canary Media)

"A Progress Report on the IRA Shows Electric Vehicle Adoption Is Going Well. Renewable Energy Deployment, Not So Much" (Inside Climate News)

Source: NYTimes, 02/23/2024