How the IRA Can Benefit Your University

Blog by Sonja Neve & Julie Topf

On February 1, 2023, SDSN USA hosted a webinar on the incentives and opportunities available to universities in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a bill passed by the United States Congress in 2022 with implications and incentives for a clean energy transition. The event featured a presentation and Q&A with Courtney Kishbaugh, the Director of Innovation Projects at Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP), where she works to connect Federal funding opportunities and Agency programs with the goals of organizations to support their sustainability planning and initiatives.

Attendees joined from more than thirty US Universities, and actively engaged with the speaker. As Kishbaugh stated in her presentation, universities are leading institutions in our nations and communities, and are vital in efforts towards a clean energy transition. Nations won’t be able to reach decarbonization without the interdisciplinary research and training and skill development of future leaders undertaken by universities. 

The presentation outlined the opportunities presented by the IRA, many already available in February 2023, including guaranteed incentives such as those for clean energy and energy efficiency in campus buildings and operations, and competitive opportunities that may benefit universities' research departments.

For more information, you can view Kishbaugh’s presentation or a recording of the webinar.

Other resources on higher education and climate provisions of the IRA:

• The Inflation Reduction Act and US Journey to Net-Zero Emissions: electric vehicles, buildings electrification, hydrogen economy, and more

• Inflation Reduction Act Guidebook | Clean Energy | The White House

• Higher ed and Climate Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act: Second Nature

• Inflation Reduction Act Creates Opportunities for Colleges and Universities

• Inflation Reduction Act: what higher education institutions need to know now