RMI’s Guide to Federal Clean Energy Incentives

The Great Green Rush is underway, as companies, governments, and individuals race to cash in on unprecedented funding, policies, and incentives that are supercharging America’s transition to clean energy.

On this page, RMI rounds up our growing body of research, analysis, and policy roadmaps to better understand and tap into the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and related federal policies and incentives.

The Opportunity: Unprecedented federal investments

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the greatest investment in US economic growth and climate action in our lifetimes. With the passage of the IRA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or IIJA), there’s never been more federal funding available to kickstart clean energy projects. This unprecedented opportunity is accelerating the transition to clean energy not just at home — it’s spurring a race to the top globally.

The potential benefits of these investments are huge: economy-wide development and investment, pollution reduction and health benefits, job creation, progress toward climate goals, and more. The IRA also has equity-focused incentives designed to benefit low-income, energy, and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities, which will make the energy transition more prosperous for all.

And yet, the very scale and complexity of these incentives are so vast, they can slow adoption at a time when urgency is high, and entities have a strong incentive to act quickly. We’ve broken down the opportunities to help you understand which parts you can take advantage of and how.

The opportunities are enormous, but the clock is ticking: Many of the IRA’s most lucrative benefits will expire by 2032, and some much sooner. Explore the opportunity below.

To see more Opportunity resources, filter the resources below by the Opportunity tag.
The Key: Effective implementation

With federal funding available, it's now up to state and local policymakers, businesses, nonprofits, utilities, and everyday consumers to pursue and implement the IRA by seizing the opportunity for themselves. Our analysis shows that the faster and more completely that organizations and individuals tap into federal clean energy incentives, the more benefits they will see.

The details of implementation matter: the timing of investments, which technologies are prioritized, what complementary policies are passed, how programs are rolled out, which organizations and individuals participate, and more. There is a wide range of potential benefits from these investments and effective implementation will ensure the most is made of the opportunity.

Rapid, widespread, and effective state and local implementation of the IRA are key to maximizing its benefits across the economy, health, and climate. We've assembled information and guidance on how to effectively pursue and apply IRA investments across multiple programs, recipients, and economic sectors.

To see more Implementation resources, filter the resources below by the Implementation tag.
The Results: Success stories are already being realized

The good news is that many states, cities, businesses, and other stakeholders are already accessing this funding and building out clean energy projects. This provides case studies and examples others can follow.

While some funding guidance is still being rolled out, projects that were in the pipeline are already benefiting and new projects are seeing their design, development, and deployment speed up. The time to act is now: Funding is available, and projects can take months or years to be planned, approved, and come online.

As they develop, we are collecting case studies and examples of successful IRA implementation.

To see more Success Stories resources, filter the resources below by the Success Stories tag.
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