FACT SHEET: The Inflation Reduction Act Is Already Unleashing A New Generation Of American Manufacturing

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released the following statement after multiple major U.S. manufacturing and jobs announcements in the wake of the passage and signing of the historic Inflation Reduction Act:

“We passed the Inflation Reduction Act to lower costs, create jobs, grow made-in-America manufacturing, and take historic action to fight climate change. Unlike the Republican tax law, which overwhelmingly benefitted the wealthiest few, the Inflation Reduction Act is already generating historic investment in our communities and our future,” Senator Schumer said. “I am proud that our caucus came together to pass this historic legislation – and every Republican will have to explain why they voted against lower costs, against American manufacturing, and against American jobs.”

FOLLOWING THE SIGNING OF THE LANDMARK INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, NEW INVESTMENTS TO BRING MANUFACTURING AND JOBS BACK FROM OVERSEAS TO THE U.S. HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED ACROSS THE COUNTRY

CNBC: First Solar announces new U.S. panel factory following the Inflation Reduction Act. First Solar announced Tuesday that it will build a new solar panel manufacturing facility in the U.S. on the heels of the Inflation Reduction Act, which incentivizes domestic manufacturing. The company will invest up to $1 billion in the new factory, which it plans to build in the Southeast of the U.S. The newly announced plant will be the panel maker’s fourth fully integrated U.S. factory. First Solar also said Tuesday that it will spend $185 million upgrading and expanding its existing facilities in Ohio. CEO Mark Widmar pointed to the IRA as the key catalyst that made the company decide to build another factory in the U.S. rather than looking elsewhere. The funding packages create, for the first time, a ‘long-term view and understanding of the industry, and policies aligned to that industry,’ he told CNBC. ‘With that level of clarity, we stepped back and evaluated the alternatives or the options of where we could go with our next factory and when we looked at it comprehensively the U.S. was a very attractive option,’ he said.” [CNBC, 8/30/22]

New York Times: Toyota adds $2.5 billion to its investment in a North Carolina battery plant. “Toyota Motor said on Wednesday that it was more than doubling its investment in a battery plant in North Carolina as part of a broader effort to catch up to rivals in fielding electric vehicles. The automaker said it would invest an additional $2.5 billion in the plant, which is to be located near Greensboro, an expansion that would create an additional 350 jobs. It now expects to spend a total of $3.8 billion on the factory and to employ 2,100 people.” … “The recently approved Inflation Reduction Act has increased the incentive for such plants by tying subsidies for E.V. purchases to the amount of a vehicle’s battery that is built in North America.” [New York Times, 8/31/22]

Wall Street Journal: Honda, LG Energy Plan $4.4 Billion EV Battery Factory in U.S. “Honda Motor Co. and LG Energy Solution Ltd. said Monday they plan to build a $4.4 billion electric-vehicle battery factory in the U.S., the latest tie-up between auto makers and battery suppliers seeking to expand capacity by sharing upfront costs. The companies said they plan to begin construction of the factory early next year and start mass production by the end of 2025. The factory is planned for Ohio, the same state as Honda’s longstanding auto plant in Marysville, people familiar with the matter said.” … “With their U.S. plant, Honda and South Korea’s LG Energy join a growing roster of joint ventures between car makers and battery suppliers planning new factories. Over the past year, GM and LG Energy, as well as Stellantis NV and Samsung SDI Co., have said they plan to team up to build multibillion-dollar plants in the U.S.” [Wall Street Journal, 8/29/22]

Reuters: Hyundai Motor may speed up construction of U.S. EV plant, Yonhap reports. “A new U.S. law excluding electric vehicles assembled outside North America from tax credits could persuade South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co to bring forward the start-date for construction of an EV and battery plant in the United States to as early as this year, Yonhap news agency reported on Monday. Hyundai Motor said in May that it would break ground on its new facility in Georgia in early 2023, with commercial production starting in the first half of 2025 with an annual capacity of 300,000 units. But the company is now considering starting construction later this year in order to begin commercial production in the second half of 2024, Yonhap reported, citing an unidentified auto industry source.” [Reuters, 8/22/22]

Energy Storage News: Inflation Reduction Act prompts Turkish company to increase US gigafactory output to 3GWh. “Turkish group Kontrolmatik Technologies has increased the output of its planned energy storage-focused gigafactory in the US by 50%, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which Joe Biden signed into law yesterday. The company announced plans earlier in 2022 to build a lithium-ion battery factory in the US specifically for the utility and industrial-scale stationary energy storage sectors, with 280-305 Ah range lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. It expects to pick a site within a month and for the facility to start production in 2024, according to an announcement authored by Kontrolmatic’s USA CEO Bahadir Yekti who cited the passing of the IRA yesterday as a major factor in the decision to increase its planned capacity from 2GWh to 3GWh. ‘Amid the strong support and incentives provided by the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act for the domestic production of batteries, we were motivated and encouraged to revise our initial business plans for the factory and increase our US factory’s capacity to 3 GWh. We have also begun planning for our second US factory as we begin the construction of our first.’ he said.” [Energy Storage News, 8/17/22]

Wall Street Journal: Tesla Supplier Panasonic Plans Additional $4 Billion EV Battery Plant in U.S. “Panasonic Holdings Corp., a supplier to electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc., is in discussions to build an additional roughly $4 billion EV battery plant in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter. The Japanese company is looking at Oklahoma as the location for its new plant, though there are no guarantees that an agreement will be reached, the people said. EV makers including Tesla are boosting production volume and demanding more batteries from suppliers as they try to reduce long wait times for many popular EV models. Panasonic already jointly operates a battery factory in Nevada with Tesla. The new Panasonic plant would come in addition to a roughly $4 billion EV battery factory that the Japanese company said in July it planned to build in Kansas. People with knowledge of Panasonic’s plans described the two plants as twins with similar capacity.” [Wall Street Journal, 8/26/22]

Solar Power World: SPI Energy will start 1.5-GW silicon wafer manufacturing site stateside by 2023. “SPI Energy, the company that took over the former Sunergy solar panel manufacturing plant in Sacramento, California, and has been making Solar4America-branded solar panels out of the facility since March of this year, announced it has signed a letter of intent to secure solar wafer manufacturing equipment. The company is targeting delivery and production of solar wafers in the United States by 2023, originally planning to have 1.5 GW of annual wafer production capacity. SPI Energy wants to increase its wafer manufacturing capacity to 3 GW by 2024. This will be the first silicon wafer facility set up in the United States in nearly a decade. Wafers are the precursor to solar cells, which are then assembled into final solar panels. The United States does not yet have any cell manufacturing within its borders.” … “The company is expanding into wafers because of manufacturing tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act. Solar wafer manufacturers will receive $12/m2. ‘I am very grateful to see the bill passed, as it will not only lower energy prices and help the country meet its climate goals, but boost U.S. manufacturing and create jobs. All of us at SPI are focused on scaling as fast as possible to provide customers with a more affordable, clean and resilient way to power their homes and lives,’ said Xiaofeng Denton Peng, Chairman and CEO of SPI Energy, in a press release. ‘As a global expert in renewable energy industry and solar wafer mass production pioneer, we are able to start the state-of-art solar wafer manufacturing facility in USA with leading technologies.’” [Solar Power World, 8/24/22]

Reuters: GM, LG Energy Solution considering Indiana for fourth U.S. battery plant. “General Motors Co and LG Energy Solution are considering a site in Indiana for a fourth U.S. battery cell manufacturing plant, a spokeswoman for the companies' joint venture said on Thursday. Ultium Cells LLC ‘is developing a competitive business case for a potential large investment that could be located in New Carlisle, Indiana,’ she said, adding that Ultium had submitted a tax abatement application that it hopes will be approved later this month. Production at Ultium's first U.S battery cell plant in Warren, Ohio is set to begin later this month. The companies announced the $2.3 billion plant in 2019. The fourth plant is expected to be similar to the three others and have an investment of more than $2 billion, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters, but it is not clear when it might open.” [Reuters, 8/18/22]

Korea Economic Daily: Samsung SDI to hasten US battery plant groundbreaking. “South Korean major battery maker Samsung SDI Co. is set to push forward the start of its plant construction in the US by two months in response to Washington’s decision to provide tax breaks only to electric vehicles equipped with batteries manufactured in North America. Samsung SDI is scheduled to break ground in October on a joint EV battery factory with Dutch-domiciled multinational automaker Stellantis N.V. in Kokomo, Indiana. The two companies agreed to invest $2.5 billion to build a battery plant to produce 23 gigawatt hours (GWh) of prismatic battery cells and modules a year. Its capacity will be increased to 33 GWh in the future. They had planned to begin the construction around the end of this year for commercial operations to start the first quarter of 2025 as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which provides tariff benefits for major auto parts produced in North America, is set to take effect in July 2025. But Samsung SDI decided to hasten the groundbreaking as the US is set to offer tax incentives of $7,500 per EV from next year — but only on those made in North America.” [Korea Economic Daily, 8/26/22]

AP: Electric battery maker to locate factory in northern WVa. “The energy startup SPARKZ said Tuesday it will locate an electric battery factory in northern West Virginia. The batteries will be built at a 482,000-square-foot (4.5-hectare) plant in Taylor County off U.S. Route 50 near Bridgeport, the company said in a statement. The plant, which eventually will employ 350 workers, originally was a glass factory that ceased operations in 2009. The plant will produce cobalt-free batteries, an effort to bring down the cost of U.S. lithium-ion battery production. The Democratic Republic of Congo has historically been the top producer of cobalt worldwide, with most mines controlled by Chinese companies.” [AP, 8/30/22]

THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING: THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT WILL CREATE MILLIONS OF GOOD-PAYING JOBS, INCLUDING 900,000 CLEAN MANUFACTURING JOBS

Blue Green Alliance: Fact Sheet: Clean Manufacturing Investments In The Inflation Reduction Act. “Manufacturing revitalization is essential to address climate change, support and create good union jobs, and advance racial, economic, and environmental justice. With strong public investments, the U.S. can cut industrial emissions—a leading source of climate and air pollution—while building reliable clean energy supply chains that equitably create good jobs. We cannot and need not hitch climate action to overseas production that is often exploitative, polluting, and vulnerable. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will be critical for getting this job done. The law makes historic investments to expand clean energy and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing, and to transform the industrial sector to reduce emissions and enhance competitiveness. These investments will be a game-changer in boosting clean manufacturing in the U.S. The more than $50 billion in clean manufacturing investments in the law will create an estimated 900,000 jobs over the next decade. The law also includes targeted funding for manufacturers to invest in communities facing coal facility closures due to the energy transition, which could support job creation in these hard-hit communities that powered our nation for generations.” [Blue Green Alliance, 8/23/22]

Blue Green Alliance: 9 Million Jobs From Climate Action: The Inflation Reduction Act. “A new analysis commissioned by the BlueGreen Alliance from the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst finds that the more than 100 climate, energy, and environmental investments in the Inflation Reduction Act will create more than 9 million good jobs over the next decade—an average of nearly 1 million jobs each year. That includes more than 6 million jobs created over the next 10 years by grants, loans, and tax credits and nearly 3 million jobs stimulated by new loan guarantee authority for the U.S. Department of Energy. The bill’s broad investments will also help sustain the millions of existing jobs in the clean economy.” [Blue Green Alliance, 8/4/22]

Blue Green Alliance: Inflation Reduction Act Will Create 900,000 New Manufacturing Jobs. “The PERI analysis finds that the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate and energy investments will create more than 9 million good jobs over the next decade. That includes: nearly 5 million jobs from clean energy investments; more than 900,000 jobs from programs to build clean manufacturing supply chains; more than 400,000 jobs from investments in electric vehicles and clean transportation; more than 900,000 jobs from programs to make our homes and offices more energy efficient; 150,000 jobs from investments in environmental justice and climate resilience; and more than 600,000 jobs from investments in our natural infrastructure.”  [Press Release, 8/4/22]

Energy Innovation: “The IRA could create at least 1.5 million new jobs in 2030 concentrated in the manufacturing, construction, and service industries. Through greater clean energy deployment, the bill could avoid up to 3,900 premature deaths and up to 100,000 asthma attacks annually by 2030. “ … “The bill’s provisions also greatly encourage domestic manufacturing of the clean energy technologies that will need to be deployed at a rapid rate across the economy, helping to onshore jobs. Hence, the IRA’s climate benefits provide substantial economic and public health co-benefits for Americans by generating at least 1.4 million jobs in 2030 and avoiding more than 3,600 deaths in 2030. The avoided deaths and public health benefits disproportionately benefit low-income communities of color who have borne the brunt of fossil fuel pollution. In summary, if the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 becomes law, it will be the largest and most consequential U.S. climate legislation in history.” [Modeling The Inflation Reduction Act Using The Energy Policy Simulator, August 2022]

CRITICAL LEADERS SAY THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT WILL BOOST AMERICAN MANUFACTURING AND CREATE JOBS WHILE REDUCING OUR DEPENDENCE ON CHINA

Bill Gates: “With those incentives and investments, this bill would catalyze a new era of American innovation. The ability of America’s universities and industries to innovate remains second to none, yet the country risks falling behind as other countries race to build their own clean energy economies. This legislation would help turn American energy innovations into American energy industries and unlock huge economic opportunities in the energy market. If it becomes law, few nations would have the capacity for producing homegrown clean energy like the United States.” [New York Times Op-Ed, 8/5/22]

Coalition for a Prosperous America: “This is a huge win for American solar manufacturers, and it could not come at a better time considering the Biden administration’s actions have consistently benefited China’s solar manufacturers from day one. Long-term policies like this domestic solar manufacturing tax credit will boost manufacturing all along the solar supply chain, help create tens of thousands of jobs, and reduce our dependence on China.” [Press Release, 7/29/22]

Solar Energy Industries Association: “With long-term incentives for clean energy deployment and manufacturing, the solar and storage industry is ready to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and get to work building out the next era of American energy leadership. This is a crucial window of opportunity that we cannot miss, and now Congress must seal the deal and pass this legislation.” [Press Release, 7/27/22]

Mary Bara, President and CEO, General Motors: “General Motors [has] already announced historic investments in the United States.  This bill will help drive further investments in American manufacturing and sustainable, scalable, and secure supply chains.  And all that — all that comes with that is a stronger economy and job growth. So we deeply appreciate also the inclusion of the EV provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act.  While some of the goals cannot be achieved overnight, we are confident that the significant investments GM is making in manufacturing, in the workforce, in our infrastructure, in supply chains, and in clean energy will establish the U.S. as a global leader today and in the future.” [Transcript of White House Roundtable with Business and Labor Leaders on the Inflation Reduction Act, 8/4/22]

Jennifer Rumsey, President and CEO, Cummins Inc.: “[W]e see a significant opportunity to increase U.S. manufacturing capacity and grow jobs here in all these different technologies that support our strategy — Destination Zero — to decarbonize our industry.” [Transcript of White House Roundtable with Business and Labor Leaders on the Inflation Reduction Act, 8/4/22]

Barbara Humpton, CEO, Siemens U.S.: “Encouraged to see Congress pursuing bold climate commitments that accelerate the deployment of technology & building of infrastructure capable of decarbonizing America’s economy. The work we do today will shape the next era of American leadership & growth.” [Twitter, 8/2/22]

Constellation Energy: “This legislation combats inflation as it advances national environmental, public health and job-creating opportunities, including providing support for the ongoing operation of carbon-free nuclear energy resources, enabling the expansion of renewables, establishing a clean hydrogen economy, cultivating new technologies that allow fossil fuel power plants to eliminate air pollution and safeguarding the nation’s energy security in a way that is affordable. This all-of-the-above approach to the climate crisis will accelerate investments in clean energy technology and bring jobs and opportunity to underserved communities.” [Center for Climate And Energy Solutions, Press Release, 8/5/22]

United Airlines: “Climate infrastructure and technology investments are critical to US economic competitiveness and long-term growth. United is leading by investing in cutting-edge sustainable technology, clean fuels and next-generation aircraft. The climate package will spur broader investments and curb emissions, while ensuring that the US remains at the forefront of clean energy innovation.” [Center for Climate And Energy Solutions, Press Release, 8/5/22]

Entergy: “We recognize the opportunity presented by the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate and energy provisions and their long-term potential to help us meet our customer commitments by encouraging capital investment in important clean energy and community resilience projects.” [Center for Climate And Energy Solutions, Press Release, 8/5/22]

Johnson Controls: “Climate change and geopolitics force us to move decisively toward a more secure, resilient and sustainable energy future. By bolstering current supplies while accelerating the sustainable energy transition, the energy provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act will strengthen energy security and meaningfully reduce emissions, representing an important step towards a better future.” [Center for Climate And Energy Solutions, Press Release, 8/5/22]

Microsoft: “Microsoft is committed to strong climate action. The Inflation Reduction Act makes historic climate and clean energy-related investments. These initiatives mark vital progress toward a cleaner, more resilient, and secure climate future that will support American businesses. We’re tracking the ongoing legislative process and we encourage Congress to take action on these investments.” [Center for Climate And Energy Solutions, Press Release, 8/5/22]

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW): “This historic legislation delivers funding to support clean energy projects that will create new union jobs, lower energy costs and curb the climate crisis while average American households making less than $400,000 a year will see no increase in taxes. Corporations, however, will pay their fair share.” [Press Release, 7/28/22]

AFL-CIO: “The energy provisions will leverage more than $1 trillion in private investment, create millions of jobs and cut climate pollution by 40%. And, importantly, the tax incentives as currently written include labor standards and domestic content requirements, which would create good-paying jobs in construction and manufacturing. These actions will spur the clean-energy transition we need to address the climate crisis, make clean energy more accessible and affordable, and direct investments to underserved communities.” [Press Release, 7/28/22]

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA): “We are also pleased to see that provisions were included in the IRA that will extend tax credits to renewable energy supply chain manufacturers that build plants in the coalfields, which will be a big step toward providing good jobs to these distressed communities. The enhanced tax credits for carbon capture and storage included in the legislation will also be a boon for coalfield jobs. We urge swift passage of this legislation by Congress.” [Press Release, 7/28/22]

United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW): “[T]he bill will pave the way for both a cleaner environment and good jobs, as we invest in building out domestic supply chains across the clean energy economy, from mining critical minerals to advanced manufacturing.” [Press Release, 8/1/22]

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM): “The Inflation Reduction Act will make historic investments in clean energy manufacturing, production, and deployment. The tax credits proposed in the bill include labor protections that strengthen and enforce prevailing wage requirements, apprenticeship programs and Buy American domestic content standards, ensuring these investments will create high-quality jobs here at home.” [Press Release, 8/4/22]

International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW): “The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is an important bill for our country and working families. It makes critical investments in U.S manufacturing to help ensure new vehicles and emerging technologies and are built in America for decades to come, lowers the costs of life-saving drugs and health care insurance, tackles climate change in a meaningful way, and reduces the deficit.” [Press Release, 8/5/22]

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