IRA invests record $150 million in growing U.S. energy efficiency workforce
by Stephen Lee
Through the Inflation Reduction Act, the Department of Energy is making a historic $150 million in funding available to states to grow their residential energy efficiency workforce. In her dual role as chief policy officer for the Building Performance Association and the CEO and Founder of AnnDyl Policy Group, Kara Saul Rinaldo talked to Bloomberg about what this means for home efficiency contractors.
The money is more than has ever been directed to the residential energy efficiency workforce, which is made up mostly of small businesses that have little capital for training. Moreover, ‘a lot of the money that will be leveraged is in the workers, who are now trained and can command higher salaries, train their colleagues, and build careers in home performance,
Kara Saul Rinaldi, President and CEO of AnnDyl Policy Group
This article originally appeared in Bloomberg Law on July 17, 2023
The White House on Monday kicked off the outlay of $150 million to states so they can train contractors who can work on home energy upgrades.
The funding is meant to fill what contractors have called a significant skills gap across the nation, which could threaten President Joe Biden’s vision of reducing the energy used to heat, cool, and light homes and commercial buildings.
That category of energy usage is responsible for 13% of the nation’s carbon emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Under the Biden plan, states will use the money to create and execute workforce training programs for residential efficiency and electrification projects, then connect workers who receive the training with projects funded by the Energy Department.