As the first debate between President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump kicks the race to the White House into high gear, both candidates will want to point to their handling of the economy as a strong suit. One of Biden’s signature pieces of legislation - the inflation reduction act - has promised an economic boost in the form of billions of dollars worth of clean energy incentives.
#BidenVsTrump #PresidentialDebate #Economy #InflationReductionAct #CleanEnergy #EconomicBoost #2024Elections #Biden #Trump #WhiteHouseRace #EconomicPolicies #DebateNight #PoliticalShowdown #USPolitics #Election2024 #EconomicGrowth
~HT.178~PR.152~ED.194~GR.124~
#BidenVsTrump #PresidentialDebate #Economy #InflationReductionAct #CleanEnergy #EconomicBoost #2024Elections #Biden #Trump #WhiteHouseRace #EconomicPolicies #DebateNight #PoliticalShowdown #USPolitics #Election2024 #EconomicGrowth
~HT.178~PR.152~ED.194~GR.124~
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Washington, D.C., a city in the grip of a heat wave. Its households are bracing for
00:07higher electricity costs, and the government is trying to help.
00:12Kalen Roach of the D.C. Sustainable Energy Utility does outreach to let especially lower
00:17income residents know how tapping into communal solar projects like this one can help lower
00:22their bills.
00:23So this is a 502-kilowatt system, and that services about 143 income-qualified district
00:30households across the district. And these systems can help district residents save up
00:35to $500 off of their electricity bills a year.
00:40The program, called Solar for All, essentially helps reduce electricity costs for low-income
00:45households by either directly installing solar panels on the roofs of beneficiaries or letting
00:51them subscribe to community solar facilities. The D.C. Sustainable Energy Utility says the
00:56aim is to get a 50 percent reduction in energy bills for 100,000 households by 2032.
01:03I especially like community solar because it really throws open the doors access-wise,
01:09because it doesn't matter how old your roof is or if your property is shaded. Anybody
01:13can participate in it.
01:14The way that our program operates in terms of making sure that the funds are helping
01:19to incentivize installers and developers so that they have resources needed to make
01:25it economically viable and also spur on more innovation and more participation in the solar
01:31field.
01:34And the local program is about to get a huge federal financing boost via the Greenhouse
01:39Gas Reduction Fund created by the White House's signature piece of legislation, the Inflation
01:44Reduction Act. Thomas Bartolomew is Associate Director for Policy and Compliance with the
01:49D.C. Department of Energy and Environment.
01:52With the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress and the Biden administration saw that this
01:57would be a great model for them to invest in as well, and they've taken $7 billion and
02:03they've made awards all across the country. So every state is going to get its own Solar
02:07for All program. So we were lucky enough to get one of those awards. We're getting a little
02:13over $62 million, and we plan to help something like 19,000 more households through those
02:20investments.
02:22Charisse Perry-Brussell is one resident hopeful the program can help her rein in her costs.
02:27I just found out about the program, about the solar program to save energy. I don't
02:31know, none of my neighborhood or my community didn't know about the free solar panels to
02:36save energy. So we all got on it.
02:40The neighborhood's residents mostly acknowledge there is help available, but say more can
02:45be done.
02:46I know they've got programs to help people. They do stuff, but I feel like some people
02:51can't get to them programs, and some people don't have enough money to do what they need
02:55to do. But a little bit more can help out.
02:58They do help you with electricity, utilities, but no, they're not doing enough to keep them
03:04down as far as a steady rate.
03:07Legislation that would step up these forms of assistance is not without its critics.
03:12Presidential candidate Donald Trump has vowed to reverse the Inflation Reduction Act.
03:16It's certainly a possibility, given what candidate Trump has said about these and other programs.
03:23Congress and the president can always change the laws. That is how that all works. I do
03:27think that the idea behind the Inflation Reduction Act is a really good idea, and the idea of
03:33incentivizing clean energy. And I think it's hard to defeat a good idea in the end.
03:38In this election, it will be up to voters to decide what is a good idea and who has
03:42them.
03:43Therese Perry-Russell says she's undecided.
03:45Oh, nope. I'm doing my research as they come. I'm doing my research as they come.
03:52After a scorching summer of campaigning sets up the election in the fall, many here hope
03:56solar is here to stay, whatever the political weather.
04:00Subscribe to One India Channel and never miss an update.