🏠 IRA and renters

More big EV news from Walmart, Toyota, and Dodge, including a 500-mile range RAM. Threat of renewed solar tariffs back on the table in Congress. $50M for renewable agriculture, $29M for nuclear, and $6m for sustainable finance.

Author

Acclimate Editor
April 10, 2023

Hello and welcome to the 36 new subscribers getting plugged in to the clean energy transition.

🗓 Every Monday morning, we distill what matters in renewable energy and electrification across business, tech, and policy — all in a 5-minute read.

This week’s newsletter includes:

  • More big EV news from Walmart, Toyota, and Dodge, including a 500-mile range RAM.

  • Threat of renewed solar tariffs back on the table in Congress.

  • $50M for renewable agriculture, $29M for nuclear, and $6m for sustainable finance.

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🏠 IRA and renters

Source: Unsplash

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a new law passed in August 2022 in the United States that authorizes $369 billion in investments for utilities, transmission lines, and greener manufacturing over the next decade, including $43 billion in tax breaks and rebates that bring down the cost of products like solar panels, electric appliances, and electric vehicles. However, many of these incentives are geared towards homeowners and may not have as much of an immediate effect for renters.

Renters make up a significant portion of the US population, with about 110 million people living in rental households, making up about 36 percent of the nation’s housing. While the IRA can help multifamily residences and landlords make upgrades to energy efficiency, switch to more modern appliances, and create more comfortable homes, renters may not benefit as much from these incentives as homeowners.

The main issue with the IRA is that renters and landlords have different incentives when it comes to building upgrades, as renters want a comfortable and healthy environment but may be stuck paying the energy bill for an inefficient home, while landlords may not have a strong reason to invest in invisible changes that would directly benefit their tenants.

However, tax credits and rebates could still apply to renters and multifamily residences as long as they meet the income limits spelled out in the law. Renters may benefit from purchasing smaller, plug-in appliances that are eligible for rebates or tax credits, such as window unit heat pumps or induction burners.

Overall, the success of the IRA in helping renters live in fossil fuel-free homes will depend on whether it can convince property owners that upgrades make business sense.

Read more:

📊 CHART OF THE WEEK

VC funding for climate tech startups has slowed to its lowest pace in nearly three years, a worrying sign for an industry which had, until recently, brushed off the tech market downturn.

In Q1, climate tech startups raised $5.7 billion across 279 VC deals, according to PitchBook data. That's a 36% decline in deal value and a 31% decline in deal count from the previous quarter. From its peak in Q3 2021, quarterly deal value has fallen more than 50%.

📣 A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS

Five Things is your Sunday Morning Newsletter with five interesting articles curated from around the web for you to read. Don't miss the opportunity to read something new and insightful every Sunday!

🌎 NEWS THAT MATTERS

📈 BUSINESS & MARKETS

  • Walmart is planning to install EV charging stations in thousands of its US stores by 2030 and is currently identifying suppliers, with plans to own and operate the charging stations in its national network. Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs are located within 10 miles of around 90% of Americans.

  • Ram revealed details about the 2025 Ram 1500 REV electric pickup truck, boasting a 500-mile range and a plan to release an even longer-range version in the future.

  • Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares says there may not be enough lithium to replace every internal-combustion vehicle with an EV, acknowledging the challenge of sourcing raw materials for building EV batteries.

  • Toyota Motor Corp plans to introduce 10 new battery-powered models and target sales of 1.5 million EVs per year by 2026, while setting up a new unit to focus on next-generation battery EVs under its new leadership team.

  • Lyft expands EV option to riders in 14 cities and counties

    Business riders will be able to request hybrid or electric vehicles beginning April 17.

  • Amazon deliveries made by Rivian EVs surge to 75M.

🏛 POLICY & POLITICS

  • EPA plans to introduce regulations aimed at boosting electric vehicle sales tenfold, with the goal of making electric vehicles the primary choice for new car buyers in the United States by 2032.

  • High oil prices are fueling a renewable energy boom in the Middle East as Gulf nations diversify their economies away from oil, focusing on sustainability and shifting towards blue hydrogen production, with Saudi Arabia leading the way.

  • A small minority of Parisians banned rental e-scooters in a referendum, in contrast to other major cities expanding e-scooters, but transportation experts believe it won't necessarily affect the growth of micromobility.

  • JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon suggested that the US government may need to use its power of eminent domain to seize private land to accelerate the development of wind and solar energy projects.

  • The threat of new US solar tariffs is back. A bipartisan group in the U.S. Congress is trying to undo President Biden’s two-year pause on new tariffs on some solar panels imported from Southeast Asia.

  • Governor Kathy Hochul and the Democratic-controlled Legislature of New York are negotiating state budget legislation that would require the New York Power Authority to provide only renewable energy and power to customers.

  • The Inflation Reduction Act is expected to introduce a sustainable aviation fuel tax credit that will incentivize producers to create low carbon products, but there is concern that it could also result in a market for corn-based ethanol, with implications for the U.S. transportation sector and rural communities.

  • USDA offers $1B in renewables grants, including funds for ‘underutilized’ technology like small hydropower. Farmers, ranchers and rural businesses will be eligible to receive up to $1 million for renewable energy projects.

🚀 STARTUPS & TECH

  • Equator, a venture capital firm, has secured $40 million in commitments for its fund aimed at investing in climate tech startups in Africa, recognizing the continent's vulnerability to climate change due to the lack of diffusion of relevant technologies and information.

  • Plants have a built-in coping mechanism that helps them better endure cold temperatures, according to a new study, which could offer new solutions for breeding resilience in cases of extreme weather driven by climate change.

  • Meet the indigenous engineer upcycling tequila waste into sustainable housing by using byproducts from distillation.

  • Farmers turning to biodiversity nature restoration as a new plan for profitability and sustainability.

  • DOE labs built a VPP with solar, a nuke, electrolyzers and storage. It worked.

🌎 SOCIETY & IMPACT

  • A study published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society suggests that MLB home runs are becoming more frequent due to warming air temperatures caused by global warming and this impact is set to become more pronounced in the future.

  • A barrage of storms is resurrecting what was once the largest body of fresh water west of the Mississippi River, setting the stage for a disaster this spring, and nature seems to be speaking up.

  • Airline passengers could be in for a rougher ride thanks to climate change.

  • How protecting and encouraging the planting of street trees will make Austin, Texas more resilient to increasingly common extreme heat events.

  • Vanuatu has received United Nations approval to ask the International Court of Justice if countries can be sued for insufficient action on climate change.

💰 FRESH FUNDING

  • Agreena, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based carbon market for regenerative agriculture, raised $50M in Series B funding from HV Capital, Anthemis Group, Kinnevik, AENU, and Gullspång Re:food.

  • Type One Energy, a Middleton, WI-based startup developing nuclear fusion powered by stellarator devices, raised $29M in Series A funding from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Darco Capital, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, Grantham Environmental Trust, MILFAM, Orbia Ventures, Shorewind Capital, TDK Ventures, TRIREC, and VAHOCA.

  • OYA Renewables, a Toronto, Canada-based renewable energy project developer, raised $27M from City National Bank and Greenprint Capital.

  • Modern Electron, a Bothell, WA-based company, Modern Electron, raised $32.8M in funding for its hydrogen-fired generators and hydrogen heating technology for homes.

  • Effy, a Paris, France-based marketplace for energy renovation, raised $22M from Felix Capital.

  • Irrigreen, a San Francisco-based company, raised $15M in seed funding for its on-demand robotic irrigation systems. Read more here

  • Cowboy Clean Fuels, a Denver, CO-based carbon negative RNG developer, raised $8M in Series A funding from Machan Investments.

  • Evoco, a Toronto, Canada-based low-carbon, plant-based materials start-up, raised $9M in Series B funding from Circular Innovation Fund, Export Development Canada, and The Stuart Group.

  • Connect Earth, a London, UK-based data platform for sustainable finance, raised $6M in Seed funding from Gresham House Ventures, Love Ventures, Global Brain, The Norinchukin Bank, Portfolio Ventures, Super Capital VC, Market One Capital, Mustard Seed MAZE, and Venista Ventures.

  • 3E Nano, a Toronto, Canada-based developer of solar control coatings for windows, raised $4M in Seed funding from Energy Foundry, Creative Ventures, ACT Venture Partners, Vector Capital, New Climate Ventures, VertueLab Climate Impact Fund, and MUUS Climate Partners.

  • Carbonaide, a Joensuu, Finland-based carbon curing technology start-up, raised $2M in Seed funding from Lakan Betoni and Vantaan Energia.

😎 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

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