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Macon-based Blue Bird is among Southeastern manufacturers that invested heavily in electric vehicle development thanks in large part to parts of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Biden-era IRA is facing blowback from the Trump administration, and the GOP-led Congress is trying to claw back billions already committed by the law. Blue Bird
After DOGE, thousands of jobs still threatened and climate action under assault by GOP-led Congress
Stephen Smith is the executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and chairs the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Global Sustainability, of which Hellbender Press is a project.
KNOXVILLE — As we navigate the complex landscape of America's energy transition, the Southeast finds itself at a critical juncture where federal policy decisions are attempting to block and reverse our region's clean energy future—and push up your monthly utility bills. This is not hyperbole; it is a sad reality that needs a strong response from those of us who want a clean, safe, vibrant future in which we all thrive.
The GOP-backed bill that moved from the House to the Senate threatens to undermine $73 billion in clean energy investments across our region by abruptly blocking federal policy support that has unleashed America’s clean energy economy, grown manufacturing and investments in the Southeast, and given citizens across our region ways to save money on energy while protecting human and environmental health.
If passed, this legislation could trigger utility rate increases nationwide, hitting households already struggling with rising costs. The timing couldn't be worse, as utility companies across the Southeast are rushing headlong into expensive and risky ventures—from nuclear plant construction to powering energy-hungry data centers—without adequate planning, regulation, or public input. Georgia Power's latest Integrated Resource Plan process and TVA’s rush to build new small nuclear reactors exemplify this troubling trend, proposing changes virtually guaranteed to increase customer bills while maintaining heavy reliance on polluting fossil fuels.
Simultaneously, the approaching hurricane season arrives as the current administration and DOGE have dramatically slashed NOAA's resources for tracking and providing critical guidance on extreme weather events, and FEMA’s ability to respond. This reduction in our early warning and response capabilities puts lives and property at even greater risk during what climate scientists predict will be another potentially record-breaking storm season.
In the range of the "good, bad, and ugly," the bad and ugly are looming large. Yet amid these challenges, what's good is that progress continues at local and state levels. In Charlotte, the innovative Carolina Carshare program is bringing electric vehicle access directly to affordable housing communities, proving that clean transportation solutions can be both equitable and practical. Electric school buses are also benefiting our own communities. These buses are manufactured right here in the Southeast by American workers—Bluebird buses are built in Georgia and Thomas Built buses in North Carolina, supporting good-paying manufacturing jobs in our region.
On World Asthma Day, May 6, Clean Energy Generation volunteers gathered hundreds of digital signatures and personal notes in support of electric school buses to deliver to members of Congress in Georgia and Florida, states that have 124 and 219 electric school buses respectively, thanks to EPA grant funding. Many more school districts in our region have applied for funding to replace aging, polluting diesel buses, but this funding is also on the GOP chopping block, despite proven benefits for air quality, student health, and regional economic development.
The path forward requires immediate action from all of us. Contact your representatives in Congress and send a message demanding they protect clean energy investments and policies that benefit our communities. And if you haven't already, please join the growing Clean Energy Generation movement — because the future we envision and protecting the people and places we love depends on the voices and actions of each one of us.
