I attended a training on the Inflation Reduction Act incentives. I’ll share what I took from it over the course of a few posts. One thing that I didn’t realize but was pleased to see is that many of the incentives are geared toward environmental justice:
Advancing Environmental Justice
Through the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA will improve the lives of millions of Americans by reducing pollution in neighborhoods where people live, work, play, and go to school; accelerating environmental justice efforts in communities overburdened by pollution for far too long; and tackling our biggest climate challenges while creating jobs and delivering energy security.
Here’s how the Inflation Reduction Act will advance environmental justice. (read here)
Probably the most important talk I listened to was one from Rewiring America.
Guess who is in charge?! This amazing woman:
Stacey Abrams rewires and inspires
“It has to be about people getting their fair share, having a better life, and having appliances that work. We need to be able to tell people why electrification matters to them.”
We could not be more excited to welcome Stacey Abrams to team Rewiring America.
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WASHINGTON, D.C., Tuesday, March 14, 2023 — Political leader, voting rights activist, and bestselling author Stacey Abrams is joining Rewiring America, the leading nonprofit working to electrify our communities. Abrams will take the role of Senior Counsel, helping launch and scale a national awareness campaign and a network of large and small communities working to help Americans go electric. She will also guide the organization as it builds the tools and capacity to connect Americans and their communities to machines, installers, Inflation Reduction Act incentives, and jobs in the clean energy transition.
I refrained from saying “we’re saved.” But I expect she’ll bring her ability to light a fire under folks’ asses to get things done.
There is so much information on this website it’s going to take me months to get through it. I suggest if you have questions, you will probably find the answers here:
My goal over the next couple of months is to get contractors to the house to give me estimates on what it would take to electrify my house – heat pump heat/cooling and electrify the hot water – I already had an electric cooktop. I’d love to move to induction, but that’s down the road. Maybe also see about upgrading to an actual charging outlet in my garage instead of using the 110 outlets.
The reason for getting estimates now is that the rebates and incentives have not quite been hammered out – some tax credits are available now, but most rebates won’t be ready until late 2023. And the thought is they will go fast – so if you’re ready to go when they are finally released, you can be first in line.
In the meantime, what can you do? Educate yourself on electrifying your community and talking with your representatives about how important it is. I’m planning on attending a Coffee with the Council in my town, to see where my council members stand on electrifying schools and public buildings.
Talk with friends and family about what’s available and how it can help them – reducing energy costs, improving health, etc, etc. I find that telling folks how it will save them money is often all they need to know.
More to come…I have so much bookmarked, I’ll try to weed through it and provide you with the bullet points.
Living Lightly 