Government, business investments both necessary to solve climate crisis
Federal and state leaders gathered at Duke University on Wednesday to discuss how public and private investment can help the United States reach its carbon-cutting goals.
Hundreds packed an auditorium at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business to hear from John Podesta, a senior clean energy advisor for the Biden administration, who said recent clean energy incentives, such as those in the Inflation Reduction Act, have spurred investment from private companies.
Business leaders on a panel including executives with Honeywell, Strata and Wolfspeed agreed, sharing what the corporations are doing to boost the clean energy economy.
Wolfspeed CEO Gregg Lowe said the company is investing in silicon carbide, a chemical that enables faster charging for electric vehicles. Boosting the supply chain for that compound could help improve the efficiency of electric vehicles and help the U.S. be more independent in manufacturing.
“We produce greater than 50% of all the silicon carbide on earth right here in Durham, North Carolina," Lowe said. "We’re expanding our capacity in Siler City and Chatham County by ten-fold, so the U.S. and North Carolina play a huge role in the development of this technology.”
The White House estimates that investments of $2.7 billion will flow into the state for clean energy storage and generation by 2030.
"Now, the question is 'how do we bridge public and private investments to move the needle from billions to trillions and meet our climate goals?,'" said Ronnie Chatterji, with Duke's Fuqua School of Business. "I hope the conversations today will help to do that."
