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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Environment
Oliver Milman

Republicans in the US ‘battery belt’ embrace Biden’s climate spending

Qcells cranks out around 12,000 solar panels a day in Dalton, Georgia. The state has seen a wave of clean energy technology projects materialize in the wake of Biden’s climate agenda.
Qcells cranks out around 12,000 solar panels a day in Dalton, Georgia. The state has seen a wave of clean energy technology projects materialize in the wake of Biden’s climate agenda. Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

Georgia, a state once known for its peaches and peanuts, is rapidly becoming a crucible of clean energy technology in the US, leading a pack of Republican-led states enjoying a boom in renewables investment that has been accelerated by Joe Biden’s climate agenda.

Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August, billions of dollars of new clean energy investment has been announced for solar, electric vehicle and battery manufacturing in Georgia, pushing it to the forefront of a swathe of southern states that are becoming a so-called “battery belt” in the economic transition away from fossil fuels.

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