By Johanna Bozuwa, Sarah Knuth, Grayson Flood, Patrick Robbins, and Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò - Climate & Community Project, March 2023
The Inflation Reduction Act provides tax incentives for corporate investment in renewable energy — but what if “we the people” created our own publicly owned and community controlled renewable energy system?
Building Public Renewables in the United States, a new report from the Climate and Community Project, proposes a “Federal Public Power Program [that] would inject straightforward, public investment into the electricity system.”
The report proposes to “counter the monopolized, fossil-fueled, and profit-driven status quo of today” with a federal program that would invest in:
- Existing publicly owned and cooperative utility energy providers
- Tribal Nations
- Newly authorized Regional Power Authorities
- Grants for democratic development and transparency
The report says, “The transition to renewable energy requires far more than just a technological swap driven by private companies. It requires reordering the electricity system so that it values good-paying jobs, justice, and democracy.”
A federal program could require projects to provide good jobs, prioritize funds to disadvantaged communities, and demand real accountability to the community.