Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm dropped by the Daily Show to talk clean energy and exciting progress with Michael Kosta. The Department of Energy has 17 national laboratories and 40,000 scientists working to solve our biggest energy issues. The video below is a great watch and I have pulled out the many interesting numbers that Secretary Granholm thought we should know.
Interesting points from the transcript:
- Electric vehicles are now 10% of the vehicle market
- Four million EVs have been sold since the start of this administration, more than all EVs ever sold before
- The Inflation Reduction Act provides an incentive of up to $7,500 off EV purchases1
- As of today, 200,000 public charging stations across the country2
- To fill up your average sedan with gas, it costs about $48 as an average $3.17 per gallon
- To charge an EV with an average range of 300 miles, it costs about $16
- Since 2021, 450 EV assembly and battery companies have announced they’re opening up in America
- This year, just in 2024, we will add 30 Hoover Dams worth of clean power to our electric grid
- You can get a 30% tax credit for heat pumps, insulation, solar panels, home energy improvements3
- There’s been 900 clean energy factories including wind and solar, as well as batteries, that have received funding
- About 60% of the clean energy factories are in red states
- The companies that are building AI data centers are promising to operate on 100% clean electricity
- BYOP = Bring Your Own Power
- We want data centers built in the United States for national security as well as economic reasons
- There are 94 nuclear reactors in the United States
- Nuclear provides 20% of our clean power
- Nuclear does provide waste but that important issue “is solvable”
References:
1 Federal Tax Credit: The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 offers a tax credit of up to $7,500 for new electric vehicles and up to $4,000 for used electric vehicles. The credit reduces the amount of federal income tax owed in the year of purchase.
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/credits-for-new-clean-vehicles-purchased-in-2023-or-after
2 Department of Energy Map of all Electric Charging Stations in the U.S.
https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity-locations#/find/nearest?fuel=ELEC
3 Federal Tax Credit: If you make energy improvements to your home, tax credits are available for a portion of qualifying expenses. The credit amounts and types of qualifying expenses were expanded by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/home-energy-tax-credits