A julo Othow started solar and storage company EnerWealth Solutions seven years ago to get small solar projects on farmland and other places in rural communities in the Southeast where money is tight and the phrase “green economy” is rarely spoken.

In just the last year, Othow said the amount of solar her company has developed went from 2 megawatts of power to 25 — an increase of 1,150% because of the Inflation Reduction Act, the massive climate and economic development law enacted in 2022.

“What the Inflation Reduction Act allows us now to do is for everyday people to start to take advantage of this technology,” said Othow, a longtime lawyer in North Carolina’s solar industry and the president of Black Owners of Solar Services.

The IRA is the Biden Administration’s signature climate law. The historic act is the most aggressive climate policy in U.S. history, rolling out billions in tax breaks and other incentives with the goal of cutting economy-wide carbon emissions 40% by 2030.

Every congressional Republican voted against the bill, arguing it […]