Inflation-reduction bill creates thousands of union jobs in Minnesota – Duluth News Tribune

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed two years ago, delivers on its promise to accelerate the country's transition to renewable energy while creating well-paying, union jobs.

The Climate Jobs National Research Center, a union-led organization focused on clean energy jobs, counted 6,285 utility-scale clean energy projects in development across the country that could be eligible for IRA tax credits tied to labor standards.

This includes 105 clean energy projects in Minnesota – solar, wind, hydro and battery storage – that will create an estimated 10,382 jobs.

“Solar energy is booming,” said Jason George, executive director of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49, which represents workers in Minnesota and the Dakotas. “It has spurred the development of much-needed energy and infrastructure projects.”

The IRA is also in the process of transforming the workforce that builds those thousands of solar farms from low-wage migrant workers to union workers. To qualify for the 30% tax credit, project developers must pay a local wage, usually closely aligned with the local union wage, and they must hire a minimum number of apprentices. Projects that don't meet labor standards may only qualify for a 6% credit.

The higher wages for construction workers have little impact on the overall cost of projects, especially compared to the high costs of lawyers and consultants needed to comply with regulations, according to Heatmap's report. Still, developers say the higher tax credits are “worth the effort.”

George said he's seeing the biggest change in the Dakotas, where utilities don't reliably use unions for solar and wind projects like they do in Minnesota. He's hearing project owners tell developers that new projects must be unionized to receive the tax credits.

“We're like a guarantee,” George said. “You can try to collude with a non-union contractor who might want to offer a training program, but we've been doing this for 100 years.”

Many states are struggling to expand their apprenticeship programs. George says the labor shortage is a real challenge for the construction industry, but not for his union. In IUOE Local 49, 300 Minnesota public high school students are working on apprenticeships, and another 500 have met eligibility requirements.

George said Minnesota is also investing billions of dollars in transmission lines to help the power grid meet growing electricity demand.

Minnesota isn't seeing the same growth as comparable states like Wisconsin, which is expected to add 42,366 new jobs, or Colorado, which is expected to add 78,759 new jobs. The biggest increases are in Sun Belt states like California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada. That's partly because of their climate, but George says Minnesota also needs to compete more with tax incentives if it wants to attract big projects.

However, the report contains some reservations. For example, not all planned projects may actually be completed. In addition, determining eligibility for funding is a complicated process that ultimately lies with the federal government.

There is, however, an important caveat to labour standards: they apply only to the construction of renewable energy projects, not to their operation after they are completed. Moreover, the number of people needed to maintain a solar farm or wind turbine is far fewer than the number needed to build them.

This story was originally published on MinnesotaReformer.com.