In a letter to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the BlueGreen Alliance said investing in infrastructure isn’t just about repairing roads and bridges, it should also focus on protecting communities by restoring natural defenses.

Gov. Tim Walz today signed a new law funding the Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority to provide financing and leverage private investment for clean energy, building retrofits, and other projects around the state. The law includes vital standards to ensure the jobs created by this “green bank” will be good-paying, safe, union jobs, such as preference for projects that utilize Project Labor Agreements, which are collective bargaining agreements between building trade unions and contractors.

A new law funding the Minnesota’s State Competitiveness Fund was signed today by Gov. Tim Walz. The action unlocks billions of dollars in federal funding and provides resources for local and tribal governments, schools, businesses, and other entities to pursue federal grants for energy and infrastructure investments through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

Today the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced a six-month pilot of new requirements for the procurement of low-embodied carbon (LEC) materials as funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. The GSA received $2.15 billion to prioritize the purchase of LEC glass, asphalt, concrete, and steel, which collectively account for nearly half of all U.S. manufacturing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and represent 98% of the government’s purchased construction materials.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released guidance on the domestic content bonus credit for the clean energy tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act. For the first time ever, this additional credit will be available for developers using components and materials sourced directly from U.S. manufacturers. These credits are combined with historic supply-side investments in clean technology manufacturing.

Governor Jared Polis today signed HB23-1252—The Thermal Energy Act, which expands the definition of a clean heat resource to include thermal energy systems, requires the Public Utilities Commission to create rules around this technology, and encourages developers to propose new thermal energy pilot projects.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced the rollout of the $1 billion Inflation Reduction Act Green and Resilient Retrofits Program. The announcement took place at the Dunn Family Coop Apartments in Center Line, MI and was followed by a roundtable discussion attended by BlueGreen Alliance Michigan Regional Program Manager Frank Houston.

Investing in Large Power Transformer (LPT) manufacturing is an excellent opportunity to put people to work in the clean economy. Most of the jobs associated with transformer manufacturing are already union jobs. New federal investments going towards supporting a build out of the domestic LPT supply chain should continue to reinforce these high-road, family sustaining jobs. 

The BlueGreen Alliance recently submitted comments to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management regarding the  Renewable Energy Modernization Rule.

The Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 today passed the U.S. House of Representatives on a vote of 217 to 215. The bill holds America’s financial future hostage to roll back key provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that will create millions of jobs across the country. Following the vote, the BlueGreen Alliance released a…

BlueGreen Alliance Vice President of Manufacturing and Industrial Policy Ben Beachy testified at the House Ways and Means Committee entitled, “U.S. Tax Code Subsidizing Green Corporate Handouts and the Chinese Communist Party.”

Done right, the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants represent a critical pathway through which EPA can support clean energy deployment, pollution reduction, and climate goals. The block grants can achieve those goals while creating good union jobs, growing domestic manufacturing, and delivering public health and environmental benefits to the workers and communities that need it most.