INDIANA HAS GREAT POTENTIAL TO BE A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY LEADER IN THE U.S. — CREATING CLEAN JOBS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY, WHILE REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

Indiana had  experienced significant progress on both fronts. Indiana has nearly 86,215 jobs in clean energy (Clean Energy Trust, 2022). A new report from the group Working Nation, forecasts that the demand for green jobs in Indiana will increase nearly 30% over the next five years.  Indiana’s dependency on coal for its electricity — the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. — has gone down from 77.7% to 47.3% in just nine years (IURC, 2021).

In the spring of 2022, rooftop solar saw a victory thanks to HB 1196. Homeowners can now petition their HOA to install rooftop solar as long as they meet certain requirements.

That said, Indiana trails fellow Industrial Midwest states on a variety of sustainable energy public policies and has ranked #1 in the Midwest and #8 in the U.S. in terms of energy related carbon emissions per capita (EIA, 2022).

IECE-J40 supports, and actively advocates for, public policies that facilitate investment in utility-scale green clean renewable energy, customer-owned renewable energy, and energy efficiency.  Dedicated public policy in these areas, with an eye towards stabilizing and reducing energy bills for Hoosiers, would enable Indiana to be a better magnet for clean energy jobs and improve our state’s public health standing as well.  In 2023, IECE-J40 support the 21st Century Energy Policy Development Task Force to provide serious consideration of battery storage, demand response practices, and distributed energy as a benefit to grid reliability. We are now urging state legislators to support a comprehensive Climate Action and Job Bill with equity to ensure that the Blacks and other disadvantaged communities are not left behind.

 

There are many Energy Policies issues in Indiana.  Energy must be safely and reliably delivered to Indiana customers at the least-cost possible. Consumer-oriented energy policies that create investment in renewables and energy efficiency make sense as the costs of coal and nuclear energy become more expensive.

SOLAR NEWS:SOLAR ACCOUNTS FOR OVER 50% OF NEW ELECTRICITY CAPACITY ADDED TO U.S. GRID.

NIPSCO Electric wants customers to pay $641+ MILLION for a dirty gas plant that will barely run.

Duke Energy's Edwardsport IGCC (Still) Underperforming and Overpaying 

IRPs describe how utilities plan to provide electricity to their customers over the next 20 years.

 

Let our Conversation, Elevation, and Community Action Sound the Alarm in Truth. 

Photo taken at 2023 Re-Amp's Annual Meeting (Dr. Kyle Whyte, University of Michigan, Shemkia Nichols, Executive Director, Soulardarity, and Marnese Jackson, Co-Director of Equity, Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition.) 

 

THE EPA DEFINES “ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE” AS:

“The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. This goal will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn and work.”

Despite EPA’s goal, some Hoosier communities bear a much heavier pollution burden than others and those inequalities tend to track with economic and racial inequities, and are at the heart of the concept of “environmental injustice.”

 

Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition defines Equity: Holding ourselves and one another accountable to inclusion in a society in which all can participate, prosper, have value, and reach their full potential. We recognize and work to dismantle injustices, systems, and barriers that prevent some from achieving this goal.

 

Equitable Building Decarbonization: To remove the hazard of fossil fuel usage in buildings and facilitate access to carbon-free heating, water heating, and cooking, while prioritizing BIPOC/ intersectional identities and empowering poor, low- and moderate-income households and underserved communities with clean technologies and infrastructure including:

  • Equitable outcomes in who produces and who benefits from decarbonization; and
  • Leadership of enterprises and communities most impacted by the burdens of energy and environmental injustices.