Boosting the Economy Through Infrastructure Investment
Introduction
As our fearless leader says, [Energy] Secretary Granholm, this is implementation season and we are working really hard,” Vanessa Chan, Ph.D., Chief Commercialization Officer and Director, Office of Technology Transitions at the U.S. Department of Energy, told Politico’s “New Energy Economy” audience the other day. And it’s boosting the country’s economy overall, and ahead of schedule, economists say. The new federal funding from the trifecta of the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Reinvestment and Jobs Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, estimated at a combined $3.5 trillion, is rolling out across the country and private sector economists say it’s driving significant economic growth. Even high interest rates and stubborn inflation fears are not holding sectors back.
New Funding for Economic Growth
The new funding supports both rapidly expanding the use and manufacturing of existing technologies – such as electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging stations and batteries, solar panels, bridge and road repairs, airport upgrades, semiconductor chips, and wind power, to name a few, and is estimated by the White House at about $3.5 trillion in both public and private sector funding, across the country.
Tracking Progress and Adoption Readiness
Chan said anyone can review the “adoption readiness level” framing they developed to evaluate projects, and track their progress in the DOE’s “commercial liftoff reports” (at liftoff.energy.gov), which she said are, “basically roadmaps of what it\’s going to take” to commercialize these technologies.
Addressing the Economy as a Whole
Addressing both the supply and demand sides of the economy, Heather Boushey, a Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors and the Chief Economist of the Invest in America Cabinet, emphasized the administration’s focus on addressing the economy as a whole in these bills. In an exclusive interview that will air in September on Electric Ladies Podcast, Boushey said in part, “The bipartisan infrastructure law, what did it do? Well, it provided money for school districts across the country to transition to electric vehicle school buses. Awesome. Okay. Well, that\’s a little bit of emissions right there. And also, that helps with kids\’ asthma, because they don\’t have the emissions.”
Commercialization of New Technologies
Then there’s billions of dollars for commercialization of new innovative technologies, which is where Dr. Chan’s office comes in. They are funding a wide range of technologies to build a new energy ecosystem, without picking favorites, Chan says, including hydrogen, nuclear, virtual power plants, industrial decarbonization and carbon management, and so much more.
Investing in Private Sector Leverage
She added that they have half a trillion dollars from these bills to invest, but the goal is to have the private sector leverage it to do so much more. “The half a trillion (from the IRA, etc.) is needed to activate the 23 trillion in the private sector,” Chan added, “So, what my office is doing is trying to get everyone on the same page. The National Labs, the startups, the VCs, the large companies, everyone is needed collectively to get there and to have us all move together”
Economic Growth and Recession Disarmament
All this investment is boosting economic growth and seems to be disarming the recession argument too. As the chief economist at EY-Parthenon told the Post, “the incentives contained in the IRA and IIJA are leading to faster and stronger private-sector investment, especially at a time when interest rates are as high as they are.”
Read More of this Story at www.forbes.com – 2023-07-31 21:40:08
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