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					</table><p>The <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Department of the Treasury</a> and the Internal Revenue Service (<a href="https://www.irs.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRS</a>) have proposed rules and guidelines under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to harmonize sustainable energy and employment opportunities and solidify commitment to the &#8220;Investing in America&#8221; agenda.</p>
<p>In August 2022, when the Act was introduced, it <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/inflation-reduction-act-faster-transition-clean-energy-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed</a> $369.75 billion in energy security and climate change programs over the next ten years.</p>
<p>These new measures focus on prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements and have been a part of federal contracts for over a century, now being extended to clean energy tax incentives for the first time.</p>
<p>The IRA primarily aims to ensure that upcoming clean energy jobs are not only well-paying but also diverse and fair.</p>
<p>By establishing these wage and apprenticeship prerequisites, the government aims to guarantee fair payment for those involved in constructing, altering, or fixing qualified facilities.</p>
<p>The regulations also have an impact on clean energy tax incentives. If individuals adhere to the stipulated wage and apprenticeship criteria, they can increase their tax credits or deductions by up to five times.</p>
<p>One key feature of the new rules is the emphasis on clarity. By outlining proposed guidelines and correction mechanisms from the IRS, the government aims to simplify compliance.</p>
<p>Collaborating with the <a href="https://www.dol.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Department of Labor</a>, the Treasury Department&#8217;s guidance aims to realign the relationship between clean energy investments and the workforce, creating conditions for both to flourish.</p>
<p>Qualified project labor agreements meeting specific criteria are also introduced to facilitate compliance. This is expected to not only promote their integration into the clean energy sector but also strengthen the framework for fair job creation.</p>
<p>Janet L. Yellen, Treasury Secretary, reaffirms the administration&#8217;s commitment, stating, &#8220;The Inflation Reduction Act is driving historic investments in clean energy across the nation, and this announcement ensures a skilled workforce ready for these jobs.&#8221;</p>
<p>The prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements of the IRA are expected to enhance credit and deduction opportunities and encourage equitable work practices while supporting the country&#8217;s shift towards cleaner and more sustainable energy sources.</p>
<p>A report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/ira-help-us-solar-installations-to-triple-by-2027" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the overall solar installations across all market segments in the United States will likely triple in size, increasing from 129 GW to 336 GW in the next five years.</p>


US Releases New Guidelines For Clean Energy Jobs Under Inflation Reduction Act


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					</table><p>Six months after the United States passed the Inflation Reduction Act (<a href="https://mercomindia.com/inflation-reduction-act-faster-transition-clean-energy-u-s/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRA</a>) in August 2022, clean energy companies have announced more than 101,036  new green jobs in 31 states between August 16, 2022 &#8211; January 31, 2023, a report by independent strategic communication firm <a href="https://climatepower.us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate Power</a> said.</p>
<p>The report analyzed public announcements from the private sector since the passing of the Act.</p>
<p>It said this national plan has been a driving force in the “Made in America” clean energy boom and will reshape the country’s economy for many decades to come.</p>
<p>American companies restored almost 350,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022, a 25% increase from 2021, driven in part by the certainty created by the law and its incentives to build a clean energy future at home.</p>
<p>Further, it is estimated IRA will create over 9 million clean energy and climate-related jobs over the next decade, the report said.</p>
<p>As of January 31, 2023, there are over 90 new clean energy projects in small towns and bigger cities nationwide, totaling $89.5 billion in new investments.</p>
<p>The plans include 40 new battery manufacturing sites in places like Van Buren Township in Michigan, Tucson in Arizona, and Florence County in South Carolina.</p>
<p>Presently, 22 companies have announced plans for new or expanded electric vehicle manufacturing in Pryor, Oklahoma; Montgomery, Alabama; Highland Park, Michigan and more.</p>
<p>Further, as many as 24 other companies shared plans to expand wind and solar manufacturing in cities, including Pueblo, Colorado, Perrysburg, Ohio, and Georgetown, Texas.</p>
<p>Most of the projects are in seven states, namely, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.</p>
<p>For instance, Arizona accounted for a $4.14 billion investment in new clean energy projects, leading to a growth of 11,635 jobs, while Colorado posted a $400 million investment in renewable projects, creating about 850 jobs.</p>
<p>Georgia spent roughly $15.27 billion in investment and created 16,627 jobs.</p>
<p>In De Soto, Kansas, Panasonic will build a $4 billion plant to manufacture batteries for Tesla EVs, creating up to 4,000 jobs alone for the state.</p>
<p>Michigan invested $7.2 billion, creating 9,572 jobs. Additionally, 167,000 clean energy jobs are projected in the upcoming ten years.</p>
<p>The state of Minnesota invested $796 million and created over 1,110 jobs since the passage of the IRA.</p>
<p>Nevada invested a total of $3.8 billion and announced 3,400 new jobs. Another 40,000 jobs are projected in the next ten years.</p>
<p>The report concluded that the new law has benefited local economies across the country, and new investments made in ongoing clean energy projects will continue to spur new jobs.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, the European Commission <a href="https://mercomindia.com/eu-e250-billion-green-industrial-plan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> the Green Deal Industrial Plan as a response to the Inflation Reduction Act to promote the idea of a ‘Single Market’ and safeguard investments and growth of its clean energy industry.</p>


US’ Inflation Reduction Act Creates Over 100,000 Green Jobs in Six Months


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					</table><p>The Union Cabinet has approved the <a href="https://mercomindia.com/new-green-hydrogen-policy-step-net-zero-emissions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Green Hydrogen Mission</a> to facilitate demand creation, production, utilization, and export of green hydrogen with an initial outlay of ₹197.44 billion (~$2.3 billion).</p>
<p>The largest portion of the funding &#8212; ₹174.9 billion (~$2.1 billion) &#8212; is earmarked for the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT) program.</p>
<p>The rest of the outlay has been divided among other initiatives including ₹14.66 billion (~$177 million) for pilot projects, ₹4 billion (~$48.3 million) for research and development, and ₹3.88 billion (~$46.8million) towards other mission components.</p>
<p>Under the SIGHT program, separate financial incentives for the domestic manufacturing of electrolyzers and the production of green hydrogen would be provided, the government said in a statement.</p>
<p>The mission seeks to promote the development of green hydrogen production capacity of 5 million tons per year with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country by 2030. To achieve this, 60 &#8211; 100 GW of electrolyzer capacity will be established.</p>
<p>The mission envisages an investment of over ₹8 trillion (~$96.5 billion) and the creation of over 600,000 jobs by 2030.</p>
<p>It is expected to result in the cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports of over ₹1 trillion (~$12.07 billion) and the abatement of nearly 50 million tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.</p>
<p><strong>Implementation of the mission</strong></p>
<p>The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (<a href="https://mnre.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MNRE</a>) will be responsible for the overall implementation of the mission and will formulate the guidelines of the respective components.</p>
<p>“India aims to become the global hub of production and exportation of green hydrogen. Within the power sector this will make the country self-reliant and go in tune with the vision of <em>Aatmanirbhar Bharat </em>and become an inspiration for the clean energy transition globally,” Union Minister Anurag Thakur said while briefing about the Cabinet’s decisions.</p>
<p>The minister added that the pilot projects would be introduced to identify industries such as refining, steel, shipping, and long-range mobility where green hydrogen can be put into use.</p>
<p>Regions capable of supporting large-scale production and/or utilization of hydrogen would be identified and developed as green hydrogen hubs.</p>
<p>The mission has proposed that the green hydrogen manufacturers and consumers would be brought under one roof to save on transportation costs and benefit from economies of scale.</p>
<p>Further, to encourage research and development, a public-private partnership framework would be put in place with support from a dedicated fund with contributors from the government, private sector and venture capital funds.</p>
<p>The minister said the mission would create export opportunities for green hydrogen and its derivatives, decarbonize industries, reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock, and develop indigenous manufacturing capabilities.</p>
<p>Rajat Seksaria, CEO, of green energy provider <a href="https://www.acme-ghc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ACME Group</a>, told Mercom “The decision offers a great opportunity for India to become a global export hub of green hydrogen and ammonia. The incentive program makes the green molecule from India competitive. This is required for the initial few projects and to create green hydrogen hubs, which will allow supply chains to be established and scale production up.”</p>
<p>In July 2022, NITI Aayog <a href="https://mercomindia.com/niti-aayog-ten-steps-make-india-hydrogen-hub/">prescribed</a> ten steps to make India a global green hydrogen hub.</p>


Cabinet Approves ₹197 Billion National Green Hydrogen Mission


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					</table><p><a href="https://one.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our Next Energy (ONE)</a>, a Michigan-based energy storage technology company, announced a $1.6 billion investment in a new battery cell manufacturing plant called ONE Circle in Van Buren Township, Michigan.</p>
<p>The gigafactory is expected to operate at a full annual capacity of 20 GWh — equivalent to 200,000 electric vehicle battery packs — by the end of 2027. The project is expected to create 2,112 new jobs, for which ONE will conduct a workforce development program in 2024 to train Michigan residents for green manufacturing jobs.</p>
<p>ONE would take possession of the facility in January 2023 and begin upgrades and equipment installation.</p>
<p>By 2028, ONE Circle claims it will drive down carbon emissions by 45% by onshoring its supply chain and integrating materials refinement with its Massachusetts-based partner, 6K Energy, into its manufacturing processes while leveraging renewable energy for 50% of its power needs.</p>
<p>“ONE is thrilled to select Michigan for our first cell factory due to the state’s unique combination of battery talent, proximity to material supply, and access to low-cost energy,” said Mujeeb Ijaz, founder, and CEO of ONE.</p>
<p>The investment, supported by a $215 million State grant, is expected to help boost the trend away from NCM-based (combination of Nickel, Manganese, and Cobalt) cell factories. The factory in Michigan would become the first to develop North American material supply chains to commercialize Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) technologies.</p>
<p>The company has signed a multi-year lease agreement with a real estate investment company Ashley Capital, for a 659,589-square-foot building which will include raw material refinement, cathode materials production, and cell and battery manufacturing.</p>
<p>ONE is also partnering with a North American battery recycler to bring recycled materials back into its LFP and Anode-Free cells. The sustainable approach to cell manufacturing is supported by ONE’s partnership with DTE Energy to operate a grid-tied factory with utility-scale energy storage. ONE Circle would act as a giant battery in its Gigafactory-to-Grid model to help stabilize the local power grid and provide renewable energy to the surrounding community in partnership with DTE Energy.</p>
<p>The company had conducted a competitive site selection process, evaluating 12 states and a Canadian province, but ultimately selected Michigan because of the commitment of the State and utility partners to making Michigan a key part of the electric vehicle future.</p>
<p>This month, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-invoking-defense-production-act-spur-clean-energy-industry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> its intention to invoke the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to spur domestic production of clean energy technologies, including solar, storage, etc., to help reduce the dependency on imports.</p>
<p>The International Energy Agency <a href="https://mercomindia.com/global-demand-for-ev-batteries-to-rise-to-3500-gwh-by-2030/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forecasts</a> the demand for EV batteries to increase from 340 GWh to over 3,500 GWh by 2030.</p>
<p>According to Mercom’s <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/product/1h-q2-2022-funding-ma-report-for-storage-grid-efficiency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1H and Q2 2022 Funding and M&amp;A Report For Storage, Grid &amp; Efficiency</a>, corporate funding for battery storage companies in 1H 2022 increased by 64%, with $15.8 billion raised in 57 deals compared to $9.6 billion raised in 43 deals in 1H 2021.</p>


Energy Storage Firm ONE to Invest $1.6 Billion for a EV Battery Gigafactory in Michigan


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					</table><p>Worldwide employment in renewable energy reached 12.7 million in 2021, an increase of 700,000 new jobs despite economic setbacks resulting from Covid-19 and the growing energy crisis.</p>
<p>According to a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (<a href="https://www.irena.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRENA</a>) and the International Labour Organization (<a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ILO</a>), China accounts for 42% of the global total, with 5.4 million people employed in the renewables sector, followed by Brazil with 1.27 million jobs and the European Union with 1.24 million jobs, accounting for 10% each. The U.S., with 920,000 jobs, and India, with 863,000 jobs, accounted for 7% each in 2021.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-42002" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Renewable-Energy-Employment-in-Selected-Countries.png" alt="Renewable Energy Employment in Selected Countries" width="643" height="480" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Renewable-Energy-Employment-in-Selected-Countries.png 643w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Renewable-Energy-Employment-in-Selected-Countries-300x224.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Renewable-Energy-Employment-in-Selected-Countries-624x466.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Renewable-Energy-Employment-in-Selected-Countries-600x448.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 643px) 100vw, 643px" /></p>
<p>“In the face of numerous challenges, renewable energy jobs remain resilient and have been proven to be a reliable job creation engine,” Francesco La Camera, IRENA’s Director-General, said.</p>
<p>Solar was the fastest-growing sector in 2021, providing 4.3 million jobs, up from about 4 million in 2020. Asian countries accounted for 79% of the world’s solar photovoltaic jobs, reflecting the region’s continued manufacturing dominance and strong presence in installations.</p>
<p>India’s on-grid solar employment is estimated at 137,000 jobs, with another 80,600 in off-grid settings, for a total of 217,600 jobs.</p>
<p>China, the leading producer of photovoltaics, accounted for about 63% of employment worldwide, with 2.7 million jobs.</p>
<p>In May 2022, China <a href="https://mercomindia.com/china-adds-nearly-solar-capacity-may-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> about 6.83 GW of solar capacity, an increase of 86% month-over-month (MoM). In June, China’s National Energy Administration (<a href="http://english.www.gov.cn/state_council/2014/10/01/content_281474991089761.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NEA</a>) announced the country is likely to add 108 GW by the end of 2022.</p>
<p>In the wind sector, 93 GW of capacity was installed globally in 2021. The global employment in onshore and offshore wind grew to 1.4 million jobs in 2021, from 1.25 million in 2020.</p>
<p>Most wind employment is concentrated in a relatively small number of countries. China alone accounted for 48%, while Asia represented 57%. Europe accounted for 25% of the global total in the wind sector.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-42006" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Estimated-Number-of-Direct-Indirect-Jobs-in-Renewable-Energy.png" alt="Estimated Number of Direct &amp; Indirect Jobs in Renewable Energy" width="652" height="448" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Estimated-Number-of-Direct-Indirect-Jobs-in-Renewable-Energy.png 652w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Estimated-Number-of-Direct-Indirect-Jobs-in-Renewable-Energy-300x206.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Estimated-Number-of-Direct-Indirect-Jobs-in-Renewable-Energy-650x447.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Estimated-Number-of-Direct-Indirect-Jobs-in-Renewable-Energy-624x429.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Estimated-Number-of-Direct-Indirect-Jobs-in-Renewable-Energy-600x412.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 652px) 100vw, 652px" /></p>
<p><strong>India’s job potential</strong></p>
<p>According to the report, reaching India’s goal of 500 GW of non-fossil-fuel energy sources by 2030 could create 3.4 million new job opportunities. It mentions that India&#8217;s combined wind and solar workforce stood at 111,400 people in 2021, including 43,000 jobs in rooftop solar, 42,900 in utility-scale solar, and 25,500 in the wind sector.</p>
<p>Strong domestic markets were key to anchoring the drive towards clean energy industrialization and developing renewable technology export capabilities.</p>
<p>In India, over 100,000 people were trained between 2015 and 2021, of which 78,000 were certified under the national solar energy Suryamitra training program. The success of Suryamitra led to the creation of similar programs, including Vayumitra (for wind installers) and Varunmitra (for solar pump installers).</p>
<p>Recently, the Union Cabinet <a href="https://mercomindia.com/tranche-ii-of-production-linked-incentive-program-for-solar-modules/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> the Ministry of New &amp; Renewable Energy’s proposal to implement the second phase of the production-linked incentive program to achieve gigawatt-scale manufacturing of high-efficiency solar photovoltaic modules domestically. This was to help eliminate the dependency on imports as well as help boost local employment in the sector.</p>
<p>In August this year, the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) <a href="https://mercomindia.com/wind-energy-skill-development-program-application/">invited</a> applications from institutions interested in imparting training under the Vayumitra Skill Development Program for the financial year 2022-23 to 2023-24.</p>


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