Today, hundreds of groups across the country, including SACE and at least nine others representing Georgia, sent a letter to the newly sworn-in Congress, expressing our strong support for a broad suite of federal clean energy and climate policies that have been enacted in recent years, and encouraging the members of Congress to stand behind those policies.

As we enter the new year, kids are being spared toxic fumes while riding on clean electric buses to school, families are seeing lower energy bills after making energy efficiency improvements to their homes, and people are making good livelihoods with new good-paying jobs creating the clean energy and electric vehicle supply chain.

These benefits our communities are reaping are in large part because of policies enacted in the last few years, including the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (a.k.a. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law).

The message we want Congress to hear going into the major policy discussions they have before them this year is that the clean energy policies from the last several years are delivering for our communities in the Southeast in a big, big way, whether it’s to the big job-creating manufacturing companies, clean energy producers, rural power customers, homeowners, or kids who get to breathe in cleaner air.

For example, in Georgia:

• Georgia is leading the nation in new clean energy jobs and private investment into clean energy. Since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in August 2022, 43,266 new jobs in the clean energy industry have been created or planned in Georgia–the most of any state in the nation–along with $31.24 billion in investment pledged–the #2 state in the nation. The vast majority of clean energy jobs do not require a 4-year degree, meaning they are widely accessible to Georgia residents. Of the 20 Congressional districts across the nation hosting the most new clean energy jobs announced since Aug. 2022, five of them are in Georgia:  
  • District 1 (Rep. Buddy Carter) – 7,300 new clean energy jobs
  • District 2 (Rep. Sanford Bishop) – 8,300 new clean energy jobs
  • District 10 (Rep. Mike Collins) – 9,910 new clean energy jobs
  • District 11 (Rep. Barry Loudermilk) – 6,152 new clean energy jobs
  • District 12 (Rep. Rick Allen) – 5,395 new clean energy jobs
• 370 clean electric school buses were awarded to Georgia school districts in 2023-24 through the EPA Clean School Bus Program, allowing thousands of children–and drivers–to ride to school free from exhaust fumes of diesel buses that can put children and their still-developing bodies at risk for damaged lungs, asthma and other respiratory diseases, cognitive impairment, and increased hospitalizations.
• More than 82,000 Georgian households received residential federal income tax credits on home improvements to make their homes more energy efficient and reliant on clean energy on their 2023 tax returns, reducing the amount paid in taxes to the IRS by about $1,800 on average for each household.
• Thousands of households are set to lower their energy bills through the EPA home energy rebate programs, which allocate $219 million to the State of Georgia to help residents complete home energy efficiency improvements and appliance replacements. The pilot program is now open to Georgia residents and the full program is set to launch next month.
• Thousands more low-income households are set to lower their energy bills by at least 20% through the EPA Solar For All program, which is granting $156 million to help Georgia residents who have low incomes put solar on their roofs or subscribe to community solar installations, as well as churches, nonprofits, and community-serving organizations. The pilot solar leasing program is now open to Georgia residents and will be expanding to more program offerings later this year.
• Georgia’s rural electric utilities are receiving $656 million to increase reliability of service and cut costs by millions of dollars per year for rural customers and reduce pollution through grants from the USDA New ERA program.
• Georgia Power and Georgia Environmental Financing Authority (GEFA) are receiving a collective $409 million from the DOE GRIP program to improve the reliability and capabilities of the power grid, reducing power outage frequency and duration and unlocking opportunities for solar economic development projects, with a focus on rural and disadvantaged communities.

Despite the huge benefits flowing to Georgians from recent federal clean energy policies, the incoming Trump administration and many members of Congress have signaled threats to repeal, dismantle, and defund these very policies.

In delivering our letter to the newly sworn-in Congress, SACE and our partner groups are sending the message that as the new Congress gets to work setting policy priorities for the term, we want them to preserve and expand the pro-clean energy policies enacted in recent years, which are already putting us on a path toward more economic prosperity, lower bills, improved health, and a better environment.

Check out Energy for All Y’all for more clean energy success stories in the Southeast!

The post SACE and Georgia Groups Join Hundreds Nationally Calling on New Congress to Support Clean Energy Policies appeared first on SACE | Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

SACE and Georgia Groups Join Hundreds Nationally Calling on New Congress to Support Clean Energy Policies