A Trendsetter for Energy + Utilities and Enabling Technology
In a swiftly evolving energy landscape, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) uncovers game-changing opportunities for proactive utilities. But tread carefully – unprepared utilities might grapple with reliability challenges. The key? Strategically fortifying grid resilience and customer communication systems.
Introduction
August 16, 2022, a day to remember in US history, when President Joe Biden signed a law to curb inflation and made a commitment toward a new clean energy economy. His precise words were: “It is not just about today, it’s about tomorrow”. A law which not only builds an economy with improved climate benefits but will be powered by American innovators, American manufacturers, and American workers. A federal law that contains nail-biting tax and credit benefits and is the single largest investment in climate and energy in the U.S. to date – The Inflation Reduction Act.
The IRA’s Impact
An approximate investment of $370 billion is invested in the Energy + Utilities sector to promote net zero emission through Decarbonization, Digitization, and Decentralization. To help ensure that the Energy + Utility sector deals in clean energy concepts, the Inflation Reduction Act’s production and investment tax credits for clean electricity offer bonus credits for projects located in an energy community.
Overall 80% of the Act invests in clean energy adoption and net zero emissions. This will highly encourage customers to invest in renewable energy plants and have a new outlook toward technology.
The Road Ahead
Recommended next steps are for industry leaders to identify the provisions covered in the IRA that benefit their sector to provide enterprise-wide benefits.
With the introduction of the IRA and its encouragement toward climate benefits, there will be a growing demand for clean energy technology in residential and C&I accounts. Utilities will need new infrastructure to improve electricity distribution but will also need to invest in technology to support the customer experience such as a CRM, data warehouse and analysis tools, and customer self-service portals to automate programs related to solar, interconnection requests, EVs, and DERs.
CG Infinity stands at the forefront of this industry transformation. Our organization is equipped with deep knowledge, an experienced team, and a steadfast commitment to empowering the renewable energy revolution through advanced smart solutions. If you want to learn more, our experts have prepared an extensive whitepaper outlining infrastructure projects and the technologies that can enhance them.