American manufacturing revival central to administration's energy strategy, Energy Secretary Granholm says

President Joe Biden is spearheading a new national energy strategy – led by the private sector – to revitalize American manufacturing towns hollowed out by unfair trade practices, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said during a National Press Club Headliners breakfast event on Feb. 21.

Granholm, who served as governor of Michigan in the 2000s, recalled losing a refrigerator factory in her state, a move that ended up devastating the local community when the company calculated that it could tap cheaper labor in Mexico instead. The country also has ceded manufacturing capacity to China, a trend that has created a national security threat today with the U.S. relying on imports of critical minerals and components needed for energy infrastructure, Granholm said.

The secretary pointed to the most recent jobs report – 355,000 jobs created in January – as evidence the administration’s agenda to provide tax incentives and a demand signal for clean energy is also working to improve the economy.

“The U.S. is back, baby!” Granholm boomed, pounding the podium. “Our upfront public investments are going to crowd in billions of dollars of private sector funding.”

Granholm’s speech came as Biden gears up for a reelection campaign that will scrutinize his policies to boost the economy while fighting climate change.

Republicans have charged that Biden’s energy agenda has raised utility bills, unfairly targeted natural gas exports and gas appliances, and forced electric vehicles on American consumers who aren’t ready for them. Even clean energy supporters complain about the sluggish permitting process causing multiyear delays in building power plants and transmission lines.

Granholm has been traveling the country stumping for the president, promoting his signature climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Democrats in 2022, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which garnered some Republican support.

Granholm said her agency is clear-eyed about the challenges, but the overall plan is working. The private sector has announced roughly $400 billion in investment, seeded by generous tax credits established by the IRA, she said. There have been more than 500 new or expanded clean energy manufacturing facilities, she said.

“Instead of importing battery components from Nanjing, China, we’re gonna build anodes in Washington, we’re going to cathodes in Tennessee, separator material in Indiana, electrolytes in Texas,” she said. “Investments and factories and jobs are growing in every pocket of America.”