Democrats have pledged to defend President Joe Biden’s new federal green jobs program, the American Climate Corps, after Congress failed to include such a program in the Inflation Reduction Act. The program will provide funding for more than 20,000 young people to be trained and placed in clean energy, conservation and restoration jobs. Six agencies will work together to put existing programs under one umbrella, with AmeriCorps serving as the central hub. The administration says the program will pay participants a living wage and prepare them for government jobs or private-sector union positions. Democrats have promised to protect, expand Biden’s climate corps from future Republican attacks. They had envisioned spending tens of billions of dollars to create a “Civilian Climate Corps” that could accommodate as many as 1.5 million participants. They celebrated Wednesday and gave the White House’s overall framework their unequivocal embrace, showing the extent to which climate hawks recognize a victory from an administration that has sometimes disappointed them.
Solar Dominates US Energy Capacity Growth
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has published data showing that solar accounted for over 75% of US electrical generating
