By Matthew Myer Boulton with Sam Evans-Brown, Originally Published in The Monadnock Shopper News, Green Monadnock column, December 2024
In the wake of this month’s elections across the United States, many are asking “What will this mean for New Hampshire when it comes to the transition away from dirty fossil fuels and toward clean energy?”
In the Monadnock region, many fruitful energy upgrades have been accomplished or are planned. Just some examples: Homeowners have insulated their homes or replaced aging water heaters with more-efficient heat pump water heaters. Small businesses and non-profits have “gone solar” for energy independence and cost-management. Local municipalities have insulated town buildings for savings on heating expenses, or are looking to make these and other improvements. Some of these initiatives are made more accessible by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), 2022 legislation that amounts to the most significant investment in the transition to clean energy in United States history.
But as we look ahead to the next four years with a new administration and new priorities in Washington, what will happen to the IRA and other clean-energy programs?
The reality is that there are still many more questions than answers, but here are some thoughts from Sam Evans-Brown, Executive Director of the non-profit Clean Energy New Hampshire.
“Generally speaking, it should take an act of Congress to “claw back” many of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds that are already awarded to support the clean energy transition. In federal funds lingo, funds are first “awarded,” then contracts are negotiated and signed, and finally the funds are “obligated.” Once funds are obligated, they are spoken for, and lawmakers would have to act to rescind them. That is now on the table, but I think there is reason for optimism that all of the programs won’t be on the chopping block.
The IRA was designed to maximize its political durability. It has funneled more money to so-called red states than blue ones, and 18 House Republicans have already written a letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, asking him not to repeal the tax credits. New Hampshire is set to receive many tens of millions of dollars as part of this program: $17 million for fast electric vehicle chargers; $70 million for electrification and efficiency rebates; $45 million for low-income solar; as much as $45 million in regional “heat pump accelerator” funds; and the list goes on. In a Trump administration, the voices of our Republicans, and our new governor, may be more meaningful than the voices of elected officials in blue states. In other words, right here in New Hampshire, we can have a voice in arguing that these funds should be preserved.
Let’s not forget that most of our clean energy initiatives are actually local. Our net metering policies encourage small-scale distributed generation, our renewable portfolio standard is a meaningful driver of renewable energy deployment, and our renewable energy fund is generated and administered locally, supporting local projects. There’s still a tremendous amount that we can do by leveraging the programs that do exist, and ensuring that our elected officials know how much these programs matter to their voters, and are willing to support them. At the local level, none of the political levers of power have meaningfully changed since the last election.
The energy transition will be driven by the forces of technological change and progress. The prices of these technologies will continue to fall, and we should focus on the way that these technologies bring measurable benefits to our lives and communities. We know that these measures have broad appeal on a bipartisan basis, and we should continue to work with our neighbors to spread the word that clean energy is cheap now.
It was never the case that the clean energy transition would be a smooth and relentless march towards one inevitable outcome. History is contingent on our actions, and now is the time to reach out to your allies, your neighbors, and your local elected officials and tell them that none of the fundamental facts have changed: local renewable energy will still clean our air, strengthen our economy, and improve our lives.”
Stay tuned for updates on available clean energy programs by following the Monadnock Sustainability Hub and Clean Energy New Hampshire.
Matthew Myer Boulton is a writer and filmmaker who lives in Keene, New Hampshire, and serves on the board of Monadnock Sustainability Hub. Sam Evans-Brown is the Executive Director of Clean Energy New Hampshire, an organization working to move New Hampshire toward a cleaner, cheaper, more resilient energy future.