When former President Joe Biden left the office, the Department of Energy oversees more than $300 billion in public and private investment in clean energy under the Inflation Reduction Act. Yale's climate link analysis shows that nearly three-quarters of these investments are planned to flow to President Donald Trump's country.
But on the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to stop payments under the law and could hurt his voters the most.
Landmark climate law
The Democratic Party’s Inflation Reduction Act (or IRA) passed in 2022 has made an ambitious commitment to modernize the country’s energy, improve the competitiveness of new energy technologies, develop U.S. manufacturing efforts, and reduce pollution from warm climates. It will provide at least $369 billion in funding to the energy and climate program, which will be distributed over 10 years through multiple programs and institutions.
The Trump administration has tried to suspend further payments from the IRA, including those who have already approved it. For example, the government has funded all of the Environmental Protection Agency's programs, which have begun providing $7 billion in grants to help buy and install solar panels for low-income households. Funding for the program was restored a few weeks later, and it is unclear whether the court would allow the Trump administration to freeze the IRA funds that have been allocated.
The uncertainty of many IRA plans seems likely to undermine plans for new projects and investments. This is especially true for projects with a multi-year planning process, such as battery plants, grid upgrades and electric vehicle plants. The situation is evolving and you can track recent changes with an ACT tracker that reduces inflation.
How the Inflation Reduction Act works
- The IRA aims to reduce climate pollution in many aspects of society and is funded through multiple government agencies.
- For example, the EPA offers discounts on clean heavy vehicles, the USDA is funding to improve soil carbon absorption in farmland, and the Department of Energy is using tax credits to incentivize the construction of new clean energy projects. The Inflation Reduction Act database lists the plans for each agent.
- In some cases, the federal government provided direct funding for the project.
- In other cases, the government provides tax credits to incentivize private companies to build new projects. For clean energy projects, these private investments are greater than government funding. For example, a $740 billion tax credit from the IRA is expected to generate $2 trillion in private investment.
- Funding for the energy and climate program under the IRA is initially expected to cost $391 billion. Since then, many tax credits have proved to be more popular than originally expected. This raises the price of the IRA as more companies claim tax credits, but it also expands earnings.
The Ministry of Energy is one of the biggest ways to fund clean energy projects under the Inflation Reduction Act. Analysis of the Energy Data Department shows that at the end of Biden's term, approximately $300 billion in clean energy investment had been announced. This statistical qualification includes private investments, such as companies that build new factories and build new energy infrastructure, and government loans and grants directly from the government to fund projects such as climate-based buildings or training for modern energy work. About 73% of these investments are allocated to projects in states that voted for Trump in 2024. People living in red states are defined as getting twice as much money investment than people living in blue states.
The figure above shows that each state plans to receive payments for energy projects in each state under the Inflation Reduction Act. Michigan, Indiana and South Carolina are expected to receive per capita investment in clean energy.
View the total amount of each state, rather than per capita funding, the largest investment plans are conducted in California, Michigan and Georgia.
It is expected that the global avoidance of climate impacts avoided by the $5.6 trillion inflation bill from 2023 to 2050. In 2030 alone, U.S. economic interests are estimated to be $49 billion in the U.S. by 2030, due to air pollution in power plants, cars and buildings.
A study by Yale Climate Contact Partners, clean air will prevent approximately 86,000 asthma attacks, 3,700 heart attacks and 1,700 hospital admissions in the United States. A healthy population is a productive population, and these health conditions will increase by more than 300,000 working days in 2030 due to the small amount of time spent on disease. From now until 2030, clean air and better public health can save $118 to $200 billion in the U.S. economy.
The same study found that the Lower Inflation Act would prompt more than 1 million U.S. jobs in manufacturing, construction, services and trade in 2030. As tax credits prompt companies to invest in modern energy sources, such as upgrading power plants and building new plants, most of the economic growth in the private sector is expected to occur.
Data sources and other information
As of March 27, 2025, the IRA project's Ministry of Energy database is still available.
There are several versions of maps and databases showing IRA investments.
Grist has produced a database that tracks various projects: Where are the billions of dollars in climate and infrastructure funding? Please note that this database does not include private investment.
The Clean Economy Tracker tracks privately-led investments and jobs in clean energy and technology manufacturing industries, as well as non-manufacturing, commercial-scale deployment projects in the United States.
The Lower Inflation Act database compiles information from federal agencies on IRA's provisions related to climate change. The Inflation Reduction Act tracker shows the steps taken by agencies to implement or stop regulations.
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