Democratic leader, advocates detail how federal spending cuts will harm clean energy efforts ...Middle East

(Photo: Robert Zullo/ States Newsroom)

North Carolina House Democratic Leader Robert Reives joined nonprofit advocates at a virtual press conference Thursday to discuss how federal spending cuts will impact the state’s progress towards climate and clean energy goals.

The state’s clean energy projects have resulted in more than $20.44 billion in investments and more than 17,000 clean energy jobs, the fifth- and tenth-most nationally, respectively, since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law in 2022, according to a press release.

Federal funding cuts proposed by the Trump administration would put that at risk, speakers said.

“This would set us back and do irreparable harm to North Carolina,” Reives said. “It takes away jobs, it takes away people’s ability to have choices on energy, and ultimately, it takes away North Carolina’s ability and the United States ability to stay competitive in what is clearly a growing market.

Alex Campbell, a policy analyst with the nonprofit North Carolina Budget and Tax Center, delved into how these cuts to congressionally approved spending could specifically affect North Carolinians.

In fiscal year 2024, North Carolina received $35.4 billion in federal grants — about the same amount as the state’s entire general fund budget, Campbell said.

“Federal funding plays a crucial role in supporting people in communities across the state, including providing health care funding public schools and childcare, helping families put food on the table, making sure that an emergency or hardship doesn’t thrust a family into crisis, and responding to the increasingly frequent disasters like Hurricane Helene,” he said.

With cuts to federal funding, state lawmakers would need to reduce services and cut support programs, resulting in higher costs for families to shoulder.

When people have less income to spend, stores have less revenue, which in turn leads to layoffs in a “vicious” cycle of economic decline.

The cuts would also remove clean energy incentives like tax cuts for electric vehicles.

As of June 2024, North Carolina ranked third in the country for EV and battery manufacturing investments at $20.2 billion, creating more than 16,000 billion jobs, according to speakers.

“Most of these investments deliver economic development and employment to the state’s rural communities,” Stan Cross from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said.

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