A new report from the American Clean Power Association outlines the clean energy industry’s growth since 2022. Several high-end companies have installed everything from solar energy farms to offshore wind deployments.
The 18-page document claims the U.S. has become home to more than 83 clean energy projects in the past 12 months. Of those facilities, 52 are solar manufacturing plants, 14 are utility-scale battery storage plants, 11 are wind power, and six are offshore wind power. The factories have injected more than $270 billion into the industry. States like New York, Florida, California, and Texas are experiencing sizeable renewable energy investments.
Manufacturing Investments
The report contains a list of specific updates, but The Business Download: Clean Energy is highlighting three companies that are particularly exciting:
First up is LG Energy, which is building a $2.3 billion battery plant in Arizona. Announced in March, the factory will create lithium-iron phosphate pouch-type batteries for energy storage systems. It is expected to be completed by 2026.
Second up is Siemens Gamesa. The company wants to build an offshore nacelle manufacturing facility near the Port of Coeymans in New York.
The company is still at the discretion of the New York State authorities, as they need to be selected for construction.
Siemens has a history with state officials; this would be its third offshore wind project in New York. Siemens believes this will create around 420 direct new jobs and introduces $500 million in investments for the Port of Coeymans region.
Photo Courtesy Nicholas Doherty
Last but not least, GE announced plans to invest more than $450 million into its existing manufacturing facilities. The company purchased high-end equipment to support its American workers as they work on more clean energy projects in the future.
GE is investing heavily in renewables as well as aerospace travel. GE Vernova, the company’s energy portfolio, is expected to upgrade production capacity, facility maintenance, and equipment and tool management. The company hopes to maximize the benefits outlined by the Inflation Reduction Act to make cleantech cheaper to build up.
If all 83 projects go according to plan, ACP estimates more than $4.5 billion in customer savings could follow. In addition, over 29,780 jobs are expected to follow. A summarized report can be found on this one-pager.
Green Hydrogen Increase
ACP also says green hydrogen power is rising, too. Another one-pager highlighting the 3 Pillars of Green Hydrogen was released around the same time. The pillars are time-matching, additionality, and regionality.
Time-matching aligns funds to the time it will take to construct a mass-scale green hydrogen project. Additionality is a key step to offsetting emissions from green hydrogen production. Regionality is understanding the geographic boundary where both clean energy projects and emission offsets are located. ACP believes understanding green hydrogen will make it easier to scale up.
An example of green hydrogen production following the 3 Pillars is the three nuclear power plants the Department of Energy has commissioned to create clean hydrogen energy.
Three separate nuclear energy plants want to create low-temperature electrolysis to create clean hydrogen energy to cool plants and eventually use it at the commercial level.
Photo Courtesy Department of Energy
ACP goes into more detail about the framework for green hydrogen production in a separate report. The biggest takeaway is greater hydrogen utilization can lead to a reduction in fossil fuel use and carbon emissions. Tax credits could also significantly speed up the scale of green hydrogen.
“The clean energy sector is open for business. To achieve the full potential of these federal incentives, we will need to hire 550,000 Americans by 2030,” Jason Grumet, ACP CEO, said in the report. “Sustaining this incredible growth will not be easy and requires that we invest significant time and resources to locate, train, and support a talented and diverse American workforce.”
“As we continue to transform our nation’s energy landscape, I could not be more excited to see the role our industry is playing rebuilding communities and providing affordable, reliable, and clean American power,” he continued.
