| | DECEMBER - JANUARY8IN MY OPINIONPOLICIES AND TECHNOLOGIES DRIVING THE CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION IN THE U.S.What policies are impacting the clean energy sector in the U.S.?The U.S. is starting to make good progress but we're behind other countries. Government policy is a driving force for the energy transition, across federal, state, and local regulations. In late August 2022 we saw the historic passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a game changer for the industry. The bill created more certainty in the market for traditional renewable sources and promoted the development and roll out of hydrogen. The IRA incentives reduce renewable energy costs for organizations like Green Power Partners, which include businesses, nonprofits, educational institutions, and state, local, and tribal organizations. Taking advantage of IRA incentives, such as tax credits, is key to lowering greenhouse gas emission footprints and accelerating the clean energy transition. The investment tax credit (ITC) is a tax credit that reduces the federal income tax liability for a percentage of the cost of a solar system that is installed during the tax year. This is leading to increased development and adoption of clean energy, energy efficient products, and EVs. In tandem, it's helping to establish and increase domestic manufacturing to support the renewable energy value chain. This legislature is critical to creating certainty for investors, developers, and consumers. The commitment by our federal government allows us to continue to drive new technology cost parity in comparison to fossil fuel options, leading to widespread adoption. During an election year government policy is a key topic of discussion and could shift depending on U.S. voters.Beyond corporate incentives, renewable policies also offer consumer incentives for using energy efficient appliances, rooftop solar and other sustainable efforts. What opportunities and challenges do they bring? Training and scaling the U.S.renewable energy workforce is one of the key challenges of the transition. The U.S. has thepeople, it's a matter of reskilling talent to help fill new roles to drive clean energy production. This is also an opportunity for people to learn skills that will be highly in demand. The IRA is invigorating the domestic supply chain;however, it is not without challenges. Given the relatively long lead time to build and increase capacity, reliable partnerships are of the utmost importance. Organizations must partner with the right companies to meet their needs and provide necessary expertise.For batteries in particular, there has been a lot of research and development, but it will take time to scale U.S. production. Majority of the raw materials for battery technology and cell production are imported from China so it's important to build a resilient supply chain that includes traceability. The right partners with dedicated expertise and a global footprint, like Bureau Veritas, can help with traceability and ensuring materials are sourced appropriately. In the meantime, other countries are starting to produce and distribute these raw materials, offering more supply chain opportunities in the future. It's going to take several years for production to ramp up in the U.S. but through research and development, there's By Brendan Andrews, Vice President Sales, Energy & Renewables, Bureau Veritas
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