What the Inflation Reduction Act Means for Virtual Peaker

Two weeks ago, the Biden administration unveiled their Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which, among other things, promises to invest in clean energy initiatives to help meet lofty decarbonization goals and to help create green jobs. In fact, the Inflation Reduction Act has the potential to double the deployment of DER technologies like virtual power plants and beyond, which is critical in fostering global electrification goals. Adding to this, research conducted at Princeton suggests that the IRA could lead to a 42% reduction in carbon by 2030. To reach those goals, utilities are investing in green energy technologies like distributed energy resources (DERs), managed charging initiatives, demand flexibility programs, and the distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) that empower these operations.

Like many in the industry, the leadership team at Virtual Peaker is excited by the promise of the Inflation Reduction Act, whether through the opportunities it grants our organization to help utilities reach their clean energy goals or the hiring potential this creates for our growing company. Read on to get insights from the people who help steer the ship every day to a brighter tomorrow.

Bill Burke – Founder & CEO

The Inflation Reduction Act has many great components, but I’m most excited about the incentives for residential electrification. Widespread adoption of residential heat pumps (and heat pump water heaters) would greatly impact reducing the GHG emissions caused by burning fossil fuels. Adoption of electric cooking technologies, like induction stoves, would not only have a significant impact on reducing GHG emissions but they have also been shown to improve indoor air quality. Electrification coupled with new renewable capacity is exactly how we stem climate change and bring about a carbon-free future.

Heather Droel – VP of Human Resources

I look at everything through the lens of employment, including the Inflation Reduction Act. While the energy incentives that the IRA creates are exciting alone, I’m encouraged by the potential for new job creation, including (and especially) here at Virtual Peaker. These energy incentives will encourage our utility partners new and still-to-come to invest in clean energy technologies, and because of that, I’m optimistic that there will be an additional need for hiring across the board, both within the utilities as well as here at Virtual Peaker. As it stands, we’re always growing, but would love to bring in even more staff to help empower utilities to modernize the grid with green energy tech.

Colin Lamb – VP of Client Success

The specific investment in rural communities was long overdue. Cooperative utilities serve tens of millions of people in this country, but their members have not had access to the clean energy and energy efficiency incentives available to urban and suburban communities. Enabling rural electric coops to directly receive tax credits and providing clean energy and energy efficiency funding through the USDA will help these communities fund essential projects that will (1) save coop members money and (2) reflect rural America’s long-established culture of environmental stewardship.

Joey Mudd – VP of Engineering

At Virtual Peaker we are committed to our mission to help utilities decentralize, digitize, and decarbonize. The IRA will catalyze the broad DER adoption that will help make that mission a reality. Through that, our team will work to help our utility partners meet their goals while continuing to innovate on our technologies, always with one eye on a greener future.

Amber Mullaney – VP of Marketing

The passing of the Inflation Reduction Act is the largest, most ambitious climate legislation ever passed in our country’s history and it gives me hope for our future! This legislation will have a direct impact on Virtual Peaker’s mission to help utilities in their efforts to decentralize, digitize, and decarbonize by incentivizing the clean energy transition. These significant investments, tax credits, and EE incentives will greatly impact the grid as renewable energy sources become more accessible. Ultimately, this will make a meaningful difference in everyone’s lives, while providing opportunities to build the green infrastructure needed to nurture a just energy transition.

Spencer Newman – Chief Financial Officer

The Inflation Reduction Act is truly transformative. Generations from now our children’s children will be thanking us for having the foresight to tackle climate change so aggressively and decisively. I’m excited that Virtual Peaker is at the forefront of this change, and will enable utilities to take full advantage of the distributed resources that the IRA mandates.

Jeff Quigley – VP of Sales

To me, it all comes back to the new EV incentives. With electric vehicles continuing to be out of reach for many Americans, the extension of tax credits will accelerate EV adoption and decarbonize one of the most carbon-intensive parts of our economy – transportation. Obviously, there will be challenges; supply chain constraints combined with potential grid impacts are going to make this a high hurdle. But with states like California looking to ban internal combustion engines over the next 13 years, having that financial boost for consumers will make the path that much easier.

Conclusion: What the Inflation Reduction Act Means for Virtual Peaker

Beyond the immediate benefits to utilities, green technology companies, and prosumers, the Inflation Reduction Act promises to dramatically improve opportunities for low-medium income (LMI) communities in the U.S. By creating equitable opportunities, average consumers can engage in the electrification goals that would have previously proven difficult, whether through lack of resources like WiFi or in affording the technology needed for personal electrification. This equitable opportunity for green tech investment will open up new energy resources for a grid that’s already strained to satisfy broad consumer demand, and Virtual Peaker will remain diligent in innovating to empower our community to reduce carbon and improve the quality of life for everyone through our SaaS-based cloud solutions. Are you ready to embrace tomorrow?