Treasury Secretary Yellen to tout Biden’s clean energy tax incentives

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be touting tax credits and other private sector incentives passed in the Inflation Reduction Act in North Carolina this week, saying they will help low energy costs for consumers and greenhouse gas emissions across the U.S.

The act, which was signed into law in August, represents the largest climate spending package in U.S. history, with $369 billion earmarked for domestic energy initiatives and to combat climate change. The investment, Yellen will say Tuesday at the Cypress Creek Renewables plant in Durham, N.C., puts the nation on a “strong course” toward substantially cutting greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade, according to excerpts of her speech released ahead of her trip.

Thousands of dollars in tax breaks and rebates for electric vehicles and home efficiency upgrades — such as energy-efficient skylights, water heaters and solar panel installation — are money-saving features in the act expected to translate to lower energy costs for families. But Yellen says the government will also rely on the private sector to help meet its climate goals by reducing emissions by at least half from 2005 levels in 2030.

“Specifically, government must provide the basic foundations and long-term certainty that businesses need to invest at scale and drive the transition toward a clean energy future,” Yellen will say.

The legislation will spur “a significant mobilization of private investment into the clean energy sector,” according to her remarks.

“Combined with the business tax credits, this investment is expected to further push down the costs of clean energy production. This, in turn, is expected to help bring down retail electricity rates at the same time as the law electrifies a greater share of the American economy,” Yellen will say.