Inflation Reduction Act – Memphis Flyer

While driving through the city in recent weeks, I’ve found myself being re-routed around fallen trees and/or limbs several times. There were at least four big ones restricting access to streets within 10 blocks of my Midtown home. Out east, and up north in the Bartlett area, things were much worse.

It’s becoming the new normal. Over the course of several storm systems this summer, the number of Memphians without power at various times was well over 100,000, often for days.

And if it’s not wind turning off our lights, it’s ice, as heavily coated trees and limbs fall on power lines and leave us in the cold and dark. After February’s ice storm, thousands of people were without power, some for up to 10 days. The winter before, it was the same thing — with the added bonus of making our water undrinkable for several days.

MLGW says its infrastructure is outdated and being upgraded, but there’s no getting around the fact that the magnificent trees that shade us through Memphis’ asphalt-melting summers also shut off our air conditioners (and furnaces). If you add up the number of people in the city who’ve lost power just this year as a result of various weather incidents, it’s well into six figures, certainly well above the 100,000 number I cited above.

This was a tweet from MLGW in response to criticism from city council members during the 2022 ice storm: “It took three years to get our budget with a rate increase to fund our five-year improvement plan approved by City Council. We are in the third year of the five-year plan, which has been hampered considerably by the pandemic.”

So, now they’re in the fourth year of the plan. Forgive me if I remain skeptical — and not because I don’t think they’re trying. MLGW workers have been magnificent, working long hours, doing their best to fix a system not built for the increasing frequency of severe weather. They’re trying to play Whac-A-Mole and the moles are winning — with a big assist from global climate change.

The outcry always arises that we need to put our power lines underground. The utility’s response, and I think it’s legitimate, is that it would take decades and cost several billion dollars. So maybe let’s think outside the Whac-A-Mole box.

Some people are already doing it, of course. This has mostly taken the form of buying a gas generator to provide power when storms strike. I get the appeal, but let me suggest another option that came to me when I drove through the back roads of Arkansas last week. I couldn’t help but notice the surprising number of solar panels on rural houses and businesses, many of them new, some even being installed as I drove by. These folks are likely taking advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act’s solar Investment Tax Credit, which reduces tax liability on solar installation by 30 percent of the cost. In addition, taxpayers will be able to claim a 30 percent bonus credit based on emission measurements, which requires zero or net-negative carbon emissions.

So, instead of getting a generator, maybe consider installing solar panels. The initial cost is higher, but the long-term advantage is significant. In addition to a tax credit, you can even get paid for selling electricity back to the grid. Not to mention, solar panels are quiet and don’t pollute.

And here’s another thought: Maybe the city and/or MLGW could divert some of those theoretical funds for burying power lines into incentives to Memphis home and business owners for going solar.

I’m under no illusion that thousands of Memphians will immediately begin installing solar panels, but some will, especially if the benefits are publicized. It beats snarky tweets between city council and MLGW. And there are similar federal tax incentives for businesses that have solar technology installed, so why not sweeten the pot with local funds? Maybe we could get solar panels on our grocery stores. Or our 10,000 Walgreens.

We have to start somewhere. Continuing to chainsaw ourselves out from under fallen debris and wait to be reattached to the grid after every major weather event is not a plan. It’s time to re-route our approach to keeping the lights on.

Last week Congress approved the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. The bill does a lot of things, but environmentalists applauded its $350 billion package to address climate change and promote clean energy investments. Some said the bill has the potential to lower greenhouse gas emissions across the nation by 40 percent by 2030. Here’s what some of those environmental advocates had to say about it.

“Change is coming. This bill is a historic commitment by the United States to regain a leadership position not only in addressing climate disruption but also in leading the clean energy technology revolution that is being unleashed.

While no single entity can take credit for the roller-coaster ride that led to the Senate [and the House later] passing this significant legislation, much credit must be given to the voters in Georgia. By electing not one, but two climate-focused Senate leaders in a runoff election in early 2021, these two Southern senators were absolutely necessary for creating this moment in history and shepherding the bill through the political tightrope in the Senate.”

— Stephen Smith (writing before the House passed the bill)
Executive Director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

“In almost every Climate Reality training, I include a quote from the great American poet Wallace Stevens, who wrote: ‘After the final no there comes a yes / and on that yes the future world depends.’

Today, in Congress, there came a historic yes, with the House voting to follow the Senate and pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest climate bill the U.S. has ever seen. It is no great exaggeration to say that on this ‘yes’ our future world depends.

To help shape the climate measures that are included in this bill, our Climate Reality leaders and chapters held more than 150 meetings with legislators. Our friends and supporters contacted their representatives and policy-makers over 180,000 times. All with one simple message: Go big. Go bold. Act now. Yes, yes, yes.

There is much to celebrate. The IRA will supercharge the just transition to clean energy that is already underway across the country, transforming our economy while creating an estimated 1.5 million jobs and cutting costs for working families. Critically, the bill invests $60 billion in frontline communities hit hardest by fossil fuel pollution and the climate crisis, bringing clean air, good jobs, and better opportunities to those who have been subject to generations of environmental injustice.

The impact of this bill will ripple across continents. By putting the U.S. on the path to cutting global warming pollution 40 percent by 2030, the IRA helps keep the Paris Agreement alive and demonstrates to the world that we are committed to climate action for the long-term.

But for all the progress we will achieve through the IRA, there are provisions that require urgent attention and action. Fossil fuel interests forced painful concessions in negotiations, requiring the government to offer new areas for drilling in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as more oil and gas leasing on our public lands. Lawmakers are poised to take additional steps that would fast-track pipelines that communities — and Climate Reality leaders — have fought for years to block.”

— Al Gore
Founder and Chairman, The Climate Reality Project

“The historic passage of the Inflation Reduction Act makes renewable energy — which was already affordable and, in many cases, cheaper than gas — even more cost-effective. Even before today’s momentous vote, an independent study found that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) would save billions by replacing its aging, dirty coal plants with clean energy as opposed to gas.

Families across the Valley are seeing higher power bills this summer due to TVA’s over-reliance on fossil fuels. It should be a no-brainer for TVA to take advantage of this groundbreaking legislation by scrapping plans to recklessly spend billions on new gas plants and invest in clean energy sources instead.”

— Amanda Garcia
Tennessee Office Director, Southern Environmental Law Center

“The Inflation Reduction Act is by far the most consequential legislation for climate action that has ever passed. I think it will take some time to be able to process the scale and positive effects this will have on our collective future.

But the fight is not over, we’ll need to keep up momentum across the country and here in the Southeast. Paired with more federal, state, and local actions, we will be more equipped to face the most existential threat of our time: climate change.”

— Maggie Shober
Research Director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy