PAY OFF or RIP OFF? White House-connected green energy firm among first beneficiaries of Inflation Reduction Act
Form Energy executives and lobbyists met privately with a top White House official shortly before announcing the clean energy project
A green energy firm with close ties to the White House was among the very first companies to take advantage of tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Democrats' flagship climate package.
Form Energy — a Massachusetts-based company that has developed a utility-scale iron-air battery system — announced in December, just four months after Congress passed and President signed the IRA, that it would invest up to $760 million to construct a factory in Weirton, West Virginia. The factory is among the first clean energy projects to directly benefit from the IRA and has been touted by the White House.
"These investments are creating good-paying jobs, including union jobs and jobs that don’t require a four-year degree in industries that will boost U.S. competitiveness, rebuild infrastructure, strengthen supply chains, and help build a clean energy economy," stated a White House fact sheet in March highlighting private sector investments in West Virginia including Form Energy's.
Congress passed the IRA largely along party lines in August 2022. The legislation, which Democrats have heralded as a crowning achievement of the Biden administration, was mainly able to pass the Senate as a result of West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin's support.