Forecasters say the president’s clean-energy incentives will be more effective than they had originally expected, in part because of new federal regulations.

Forecasters say the president’s clean-energy incentives will be more effective than they had originally expected, in part because of new federal regulations.

The estimated price tag for President Biden’s clean-energy and climate agenda has effectively doubled since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law a year and a half ago.

Nearly all of the increase is attributable to forecasters’ belief that the law will be more popular than they had originally expected, in part because of the way the Biden administration wrote certain regulations. That rising price tag may actually be good for reducing greenhouse gas emissions — and for the U.S. economy.

The Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats passed on a party-line vote in summer 2022, includes tax credits and other subsidies for low-emission energy technologies that are meant to help wean the nation from fossil fuels.

Many of those credits are effectively unlimited, meaning the more people or companies choose to claim them, the more they will add to federal deficits. The uncapped credits include incentives for manufacturers to build solar-panel or wind-turbine factories, and for consumers to buy electric vehicles. Budget scorekeepers have to estimate how popular those credits will be, in order to forecast how much they’ll cost.

Non-paywall link

  • BombOmOm@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    9 months ago

    Drafts are a huge killer. Anywhere you can see daylight through a crack should be sealed up. That alone makes a big difference in comfort and gas bills. The good news is door strips and insulating sealant foam are inexpensive.

    After those easier things are taken care of though, prices for things like a new set of double pained windows or upgrading the insulation are quite high. But, at least hit up the easy ones in the first paragraph yourself. Killing the drafts makes a world of difference.

    • Apathy Tree@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      2·
      9 months ago

      I replaced all the windows the first year I lived here (they were shitty wood single pane double hung, and I used to work for a door and window company so it was an easy call), but left the storm windows for the extra airspace. The doors/windows aren’t drafty, the structure of the house itself is, especially where different materials tie together. I can’t see light through any of it but I can feel the air movement. Arguably worse. It’s just settled over time, and come apart at the seams. (I can relate)

      I need to remove all the siding and exterior insulation, reseal, seal the foundation, reinsulate, and reside it to take care of the problem. Which is going to be very expensive, and why I haven’t already done it. I’m looking at roughly 1/5-1/4 the total I paid for the place to do this.

      This isn’t a small draft issue, unfortunately, it’s a huge one. I’ve already done all the small stuff cuz it’s so expensive to not.