DOE Announces $6 Billion to Reduce Industrial Carbon Emissions

Last week, the Department of Energy announced it plans to allocate up to $6 billion for 33 projects to demonstrate commercial-scale technologies for reducing carbon emissions from the manufacturing sector. Together, the projects aim to reduce emissions by an amount equal to that produced annually from 3 million gasoline-powered cars.

The projects span a range of manufactured goods, including chemicals, metals, glass, cement and concrete, food and beverages, and pulp and paper. Of the total funding, $489 million is from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and $5.47 billion is from the Inflation Reduction Act.

Nearly 80% of these projects are located in disadvantaged communities and each project is required to implement a Community Benefits Plan that “ensures meaningful community and labor engagement.” In order to receive the awards, the projects had to justify how they would benefit the surrounding area, especially areas with a history of environmental injustice.

Examples of required benefits include strengthening local economies, preventing industrial pollution, and offering well-paying jobs that “support worker organizing and collective bargaining.” DOE will hold a series of briefings in April on these projects.

This news brief originally appeared in FYI’s newsletter for the week of April 1.