☕ So fresh, so clean

How the IRA fuels green projects.

August 19, 2024 It's Monday. The Inflation Reduction Act recently celebrated its second birthday, and nonpartisan business and environmental group E2 tallied up its accomplishments to date. Tech Brew's Jordyn Grzelewski has the deets. In today's edition: Report: IRA has fueled 334 major new clean-energy projects across US Workers have jumped on the AI bandwagon, while employers are lagging EV battery fire in South Korea spurs heated response —Jordyn Grzelewski, Patrick Kulp, Annie Saunders GREEN TECH Clean-energy boom Francis Scialabba The long-term future of the Inflation Reduction Act may hinge on the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. But a new analysis of projects announced in the landmark federal law's first two years underscore the nonpartisan nature of clean-energy projects. In fact, 60% of major clean-energy projects announced since the IRA's passage are in Republican congressional districts, according to a report by nonpartisan business and environmental group E2. In all, E2 tallied 334 new clean-energy projects during the IRA's lifetime. Those projects came with private investments of $126 billion across 40 states and an estimated 109,278 new jobs. "You'll find that the majority of these projects are happening in red states and in Republican congressional districts, which is significant, of course, because…it was passed solely by Democrats," E2 Executive Director Bob Keefe said during a virtual panel on the report. "What that says to me is one thing: There shouldn't be anything political or partisan about expanding the clean economy." In the IRA's second year, project activity slowed, with 118 new project announcements representing more than $40 billion in investments and an estimated 35,000 new jobs. Keefe attributed the slowdown to the fact that only so many factories are needed, uncertainty over the election, and repeated attempts by Republicans in the US House to roll back the law. Former President Donald Trump has vowed to repeal the IRA if he wins in November. Keep reading here.—JG FROM THE CREW Introducing MoneyWise, Sam Parr's new podcast Join My First Million host Sam Parr as he interviews high-net-worth guests on his brand-new podcast, MoneyWise. In each episode, Sam digs into the personal finances and lifestyles of his guests, getting radically transparent about things like burn rates, portfolios, and spending habits. Listen now and learn the financial secrets of some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. AI Everybody's doing it Francis Scialabba Generative AI is becoming about as ubiquitous in the modern office as Slack pings and sad desk salads. That's according to a new survey from McKinsey, in which 91% of nearly 600 respondents told the firm they use generative AI for work, a big jump from half a year ago, when a similar poll pegged that figure at 30%. McKinsey said this upswing represents "an inflection point" for employee use of AI, but that for all their seeming enthusiasm about the tech, companies aren't keeping up with their workforces in this respect. The findings match those of a Microsoft and LinkedIn report from a few months ago, which found that three-quarters of workers used AI at work without their bosses' OK. While companies like Microsoft, SAP, and Salesforce have embedded AI tools in their workplace products, some businesses report running into growing pains when it comes to large-scale adoption of the tech. The majority of workers who use AI believe it will help them with communication, critical thinking, and creativity, according to the McKinsey report. Around 70% of these AI enthusiasts consider themselves "light users," while a 21% slice self-identifies as "heavy users." In contrast, just 13% of companies have implemented six or more use cases of AI in the office—a group McKinsey calls "early adopters"—while 60% remain in an experimentation phase, defined as those who have piloted GenAI experiments or have put as many as five GenAI applications into use. Keep reading here.—PK FUTURE OF TRAVEL Don't panic Illustration: Anna Kim, Photo: Getty Images An EV battery fire in South Korea earlier this month prompted an apology from an automaker, a nationwide furor, and strategizing by government officials to prevent similar occurrences. At issue is a fire that started in an unplugged Mercedes-Benz EQE that was parked in an underground garage in the city of Incheon. The blaze reportedly took more than eight hours to put out, forced hundreds of building residents to seek emergency shelter, and caused some smoke-related injuries. The South Korean government reportedly plans to unveil a new safety plan next month. One of the proposals under consideration is a requirement for automakers to disclose their battery suppliers, which companies typically don't reveal. In a statement provided by spokesperson Andrew Brudnicki, Mercedez-Benz Korea said it takes the matter "very seriously" and is cooperating with the investigation into the fire's cause. Farasis Energy, the vehicle's battery supplier, didn't immediately respond to Tech Brew's request for comment. It's the latest in a string of high-profile battery fires. Nearly two dozen people were killed in a fire at a South Korean lithium battery plant earlier this year. And General Motors in 2021 recalled tens of thousands of Chevy Bolts in the US due to battery fire risk. Battery fires are less common than fires in ICE vehicles—but they have unique challenges. And public perception of safety risks is an important consideration at a time when EV adoption is slowing. Keep reading here.—JG Level up your career with these resources from our sponsors! Career building, woes, and pivots—these tech pros covered it all Listen to After Earnings with Austin Hankwitz and Katie Perry, the podcast connecting modern investors with decision-makers shaping markets BITS AND BYTES Stat: Up to 50%. That's how much the value of an EV can depreciate in a year, Wired reported, citing data from Edmunds and Cap HPI. Quote: "It's making it so that we don't trust or believe anything or anybody…It's a free-for-all now."—Hany Farid, a UC Berkeley professor of computer science, to the Washington Post in a detailed analysis of why its AI detection tools struggle to identify election deepfakes Read: Police officers are falling in love with electric cars (The Atlantic) Travel: This AI-powered travel platform helps you discover, plan, and book, all in one place. See how Mindtrip combines gen AI with the visual world of travel.* *A message from our sponsor. 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