For many folks in the renewable energy industry, the first half of 2022 was a dumpster fire. Living in a post-covid world with an impending recession, supply chain nightmares, solar tariffs, record-breaking gas prices, devastating worldwide tensions (Ukraine hot war, Taiwan cold war), and dozens of natural disasters all point to a less than ideal future for our planet. But positive surprises do happen.

After a year of wrangling, political drama and complex negotiations, and yes compromise - early August brought us seriously big news - Senators Manchin and Schumer had found a compromise, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed on August 7, 2022, reflects the promising advancements we are all working diligently to provide.

Industrial Policy has been central to this year's political and economic focus. One of Biden’s first objectives was to examine the U.S supply chain by sector, evaluating our unfortunate reliance on the Chinese economy and pivoting our global trade policy to a more reliable, controllable and sustainable model.

The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act is another clear example of our legislation's motivation to establish technological innovation; focusing on fields like semiconductors and advanced computing, advanced communications technology, advanced energy technologies, quantum information technologies, and biotechnology. But this month’s passing of the Inflation Reduction Act is the true investment in the sustainable future the world needs; increased domestic energy production and manufacturing and reduced environmental injustice.

The IRA is the most aggressive action taken to confront the climate crisis, with goals to reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030. This historic action addresses a large number of complex political, social and economic issues, plus, it also directly benefits Americans on an individual level.

If you pay a utility bill, drive a car, or have felt the noticeable tensions of this year, you should be thrilled for this progressive change and take note of how central energy is to these things. As a clean tech startup, WATTMORE is diving into how this key part of the act will transform the energy storage sector.

The climate and energy provisions of the IRA provide tax rebates and credits to lower energy bills and reduce carbon emissions. This act instills confidence in groundbreaking clean energy technologies and directly incentivizes residential and commercial communities for participating in these efforts.

7.5 million more families will be able to install solar on their roofs with a 30% tax credit, saving families $9,000 over the life of the system or at least $300 per year.
Power homes, businesses, and communities with much more clean energy by 2030, including
- 950 million solar panels
- 120,000 wind turbines
- 2,300 grid-scale battery plants
Advance cost-saving clean energy projects at rural electric cooperatives serving 42 million people.
Strengthen climate resilience and protect nearly 2 million acres of national forests.
Create millions of good-paying green energy jobs in America.

Energy Storage

For WATTMORE, contributing to a clean energy economy and massively scaling the industry, these points accelerate and increase the impacts of our solutions tenfold, making them invaluable to the entire sector.

Making renewable energy, cost-effective sources of energy and more accessible to the average American is the kind of change we have only ever dreamed about. Specifically, the ability for a customer to redeem a stand-alone storage tax credit for their energy management system is pivotal to our business model and goals.

Here’s the breakdown of the implications of the IRA for Standalone Storage:

Minimum capacity to receive ITC: 5 kWh
Projects placed in service before 1/1/2022 only receive 26% ITC
Projects installed after 1/1/2023 receive 30% ITC
- Battery augmentations later in the project’s life are also ITC eligible as long as the resulting increase is greater than 5 kWh
Starting 2025, the existing ITC program will be replaced by Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit (CEITC)
- CEITC provides 6% - 30% extra credit for all qualified storage placed in service after 12/31/2024 that has a GHG emissions rate of zero (6% is the baseline rate; can earn up to 30% with certain prevailing wage and apprenticeship conditions being met)
Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit - clean energy tech components produced in the US or a US possession and sold after 12/31/2022 receive a credit
State and local govt and native tribes can receive direct payment of ITC in lieu of tax credits
Starting 1/1/2023, owners of ITC can sell the ITC for cash using the transfer option

Our world is already plagued by rising energy demands. Energy Storage is a turnkey solution to all of the concerns surrounding this industry. If contributing to a healthier future isn’t enough of a selling point, energy storage augments resources from a variety of sources, ranging from solar to wind to hydroelectric power and beyond. This variability in sourcing energy provides unprecedented reliability, grid resilience, sustainability, cost-saving economics and flexibility.

This push for renewable energy adoption begs the question of how in the world we are going to effectively manage all this energy from different sources. The term energy management may appear as turning off lights when you’re not using them, turning down your thermostat when you’re not home and unplugging your appliances, but Energy Management is actually so much more than that. This process contributes to long-term, more commercial issues like Industrial Production, Grid stability, Energy Procurement, Strategic Consumption decrease, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the short-term residential ones, like monthly savings on your energy bills and tracking your utility use for more accurate budgeting. Energy Management Systems (EMS) solve for all of these use cases and more. As Global cumulative energy storage energy installations grow at huge rates in the next 15 years, EMS will be the future-proof tool that enables massive scaling and adoption.

How WATTMORE can provide MORE to energy storage systems

Energy storage armed with our proprietary software and flagship product, Intellect EMS, is the “swiss army knife” of our climate tool kit. Like Batman’s ubiquitous utility belt, energy storage and WATTMORE can provide a near endless array of tools and opportunities to drive clean energy today and into the future in the United States and abroad.

The passing of the IRA will be the catalyst needed to transform and scale the energy storage industry. Stand-alone storage has incredibly promising applications for the environment and our customers, without sacrificing grid stability.

The opportunity for economic savings and generating reliable power are further made possible by the IRA. It’s fueling the future and making intelligent energy a reality now. So we encourage you to embrace MORE storage, MORE flexibility, MORE opportunity, MORE of a promising future, today with WATTMORE. To unlock MORE, visit us at the upcoming RE+ (Solar Power International Conference) in Anaheim, schedule an introductory call with our team or inquire about a demo below!