Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BY NORMA MORRISON
I think we can and should expand clean electrification. According to the Federal Clean Energy Tax Credit Benefits by State (produced by Energy Innovation Policy and Technology LLC) Tennessee’s GDP is projected to increase by $2.4 billion in 2030. Higher clean energy use and decreased spending on gasoline will reduce average household energy spending by $160/year in 2030 and a cumulative $8.7 billion through 2050 across all households.
Recently, Senator Hagerty supported the CHIPS and Science Act. We are now seeing results of this legislation moving us in the direction of clean energy. In Tennessee there has been a major wave of announcements of new investment and jobs. Some are additions to existing or previously announced plants in Lebanon, Clarksville, Spring Hill and Blue Oval City. Others are new facilities, Chattanooga, Clarksville and Cumberland City in Stewart County. These investments add up to over $8 billion dollars and over 4000 jobs.
Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act helps citizens save thousands of dollars on electric cars, induction stoves, and energy-efficient appliances that will reduce household bills and improve air quality. Families can save more than $1,000 per year.When will EVs be affordable for people on a fixed income? From my own experience, it was possible to locate a used but low milage EV within driving distance from our home and trailer it with minimum preparation. A model with an older battery continues to be extremely usable in our Tri-Cities area and can be charged at our home with little increase of electricity usage. Paying $35 for gas over approximately 5 years has been a great win. More used EVs will be available in the foreseeable future due to increased sales and pressure on Uber and Lyft companies to go electric. Additionally, in 2024, tax credits will be returned at the point of purchase of EVs. An increase in fast charging stations at Walmart, 7 Eleven, and Subway will improve convenience. Finally, for the environmentally conscious folks, Tesla is removing rare earth metals from their production lines.
Bipartisan clean energy permit reform will speed the building of the generation and transmission capacity to get clean energy from rural areas to the cities where it is needed. If all of our representatives in Congress join Senator Hagerty in supporting common sense permit reform, we can reduce air pollution, slow the rate of warming, save lives, and lower energy bills.
Upgrading our homes and other buildings can both reduce emissions and save people money. Buildings currently represent over 30% of US emissions. About 10% of building emissions come directly from onsite burning of fossil fuels and almost all the rest from generating the electricity buildings use. The biggest sources of direct emissions are space and water heaters, but stoves and clothes dryers are other examples in our homes. Unvented gas stoves are one culprit, producing indoor nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and benzene pollution that can harm human health, including a 24–42% increased risk of childhood asthma. Gas heating also contributes to local air pollution.
Other benefits of electrification include reduced fuel price risks, lower dependence on petroleum imports, and workforce and economic development opportunities. Fortunately, smart grid technologies can allow more electricity to be delivered by the same infrastructure, reducing the amount of new grid build-out and increasing resilience.
Carter County could benefit from the Biden administration’s launch of program to electrify rural America. Drawing funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), almost $11 billion will be available through the Agriculture Department to electrify and decarbonize rural parts of the U.S. Living in Carter County, I would urge others to welcome such funding.
Failing to act on climate puts our community and natural resources at increasing risk from extreme weather such as, fires in the Cherokee Forest very near to our home, and floods, which caused our bridge to wash out twice leading to a significant economic loss. Electrification and decarbonization has brought in good-paying clean energy jobs and opportunities for climate-smart agriculture, forestry, and conservation to Tennessee like solar energy jobs, wind energy jobs, battery storage jobs, and energy efficiency jobs in commercial buildings and homes. You can find out how much money you can save from the IRA by using the calculator at the site rewiringamerica.org.
So, yes, we can and should consider more electrification for our health, local and state jobs, and home/community savings.
(Norma Morrison is a Carter County resident and a volunteer with the Northeast Tennessee Chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby)