On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. The IRA seeks to mitigate the economic challenges of inflation through many mechanisms, including historic investments in clean energy and sustainability. The legislation’s impact has been immediate within the solar industry, including in Illinois.
Thanks in part to the IRA, Illinois experienced an impressive 8% growth in solar jobs in 2022. Additionally, battery storage technologies employment grew by 7% and grid modernization employment grew by 12%, which are among many clean energy industries to experience growth in Illinois.
Right now, Illinois has 2,212 MW of installed solar capacity and the state is expected to experience a more than 1,700% growth in solar capacity in the next five years, with the IRA acting as one of the leading catalysts for this increase.
The IRA bill paved the way for rapid growth in solar manufacturing, with 51 facilities announced or expanded across the country in the last year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). The increased manufacturing investment is projected to inject nearly $20 billion into local communities, enhancing the nation’s energy security and stimulating job growth.
By 2033, the U.S. is expected to more than quadruple its total solar capacity to 669 GW – enough to power every home east of the Mississippi River.
The IRA is a catalyst for a transformation of the country’s energy landscape and combined with the revolutionary impacts of CEJA; the future is incredibly bright for Illinois’ solar industry.
Learn more about the IRA and its impact on the solar industry on the SEIA website.
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