Tonya Hicks: Georgia’s clean energy revolution spurs job growth and economic prosperity

Our country is in the midst of a clean energy revolution and manufacturing renaissance, and so much of it is happening right here in Georgia. What better time than Labor Day to remind my fellow Georgians that these welcomed changes are the result of hardworking people who put their dreams into action. I am proud to be one of them.

I started my career as an electrician, going through an apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). I was the first woman in Local 917 and the first Black woman in Mississippi to be a journeyman in a union. For the past 24 years, I’ve owned my own electrical company. Right now, my made-in-America EV charging product is on the verge of being deployed in our state. The feeling of seeing my company’s product in an engineer’s blueprint is a feeling I struggle to describe.

This story would not be possible without Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act and its clean energy investments into law. Since it was signed two years ago, the Biden-Harris administration’s clean energy plan in that law has helped turbocharge Georgia’s economy, creating 32,191 jobs and nearly $24 billion in investment. Since the IRA went into effect, my company has seen a significant increase in sales and interest in clean energy projects, giving us the revenue to add jobs and keep people working.

Driven by advances in electric vehicles and hybrids, along with solar and wind energy, the Biden-Harris administration’s clean energy plan has created more than 330,000 jobs across the United States in the past two years alone. That’s been powered by more than $372 billion in private sector investment, driving new factory construction in America to a historic high. This matters to me because my products are being manufactured on American soil and are putting people to work.

As a clean energy business leader here in Georgia, I’m proud to be a part of giving my neighbors new clean energy choices. With every installation and retrofit my team does, we are having an impact. We are making buildings more energy-efficient and decreasing energy costs for homeowners, businesses, and churches.

The clean energy boom is already bringing back made-in-America manufacturing. These jobs are staying here at home, they’re good-paying jobs you can raise a family on, and three-fourths of them don’t require a college degree. This is meaningful to me because union members I trained with were in this position, and it warms my heart that many more will have more opportunities like I did.

The incentives that are part of the Biden-Harris administration clean energy plan are good for businesses like ours, they’re good for workers, and they’re good for the environment. The more investment we see in renewable energy, the more accessible and affordable it gets. The entire marketplace changed with this historic action, allowing our business to grow and add jobs.

Yet despite this undeniable progress, there have already been dozens of attempts to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act or its provisions. If these attempts succeed, it would be nothing short of an economic and national security disaster.

Pulling the rug out from businesses like mine means fewer jobs and higher energy bills.

Construction projects would freeze midway through. Our dependence on fossil fuel markets would deepen. And we would essentially be handing the lead on technological innovation in renewable energy to competitors like China.

Allowing clean energy to become a victim of political games means putting thousands of Georgia jobs on the line, and for what? Clean air and water shouldn’t be partisan or political; neither should boosting our supply of clean energy.

Clean energy gives Americans choices in how they drive their kids to school and how they heat and cool their homes. It means the elderly can afford heat in the winter. It allows us to ensure that jobs and entire supply chains stay here at home. It allows us to gain, and keep, the edge in clean technology, staying ahead of our foreign adversaries who would be more than happy to take advantage of our shortsighted decision to revert back to dependence on fossil fuels.

We can’t let that happen. There is so much untapped potential in clean energy. We need to harness the power of American manufacturing and innovation to remain at the front of the pack, not get left in the dust.

Tonya Hicks is the President/CEO of Power Solutions, Inc . Ms. Hicks is the first woman journeyman wireman in Local Union 917 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (I.B.E.W.) and among the first few African-American Women to be I.B.E.W. in the State of Mississippi. Tonya Hicks continues to be a trailblazer in the construction industry and is proud to be among the 3% of female electricians in the United States. Ms. Hicks is proud to be one of the 5.2% of women-owned construction businesses in the U.S . The views expressed are entirely her own.

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