Open Source: How the election could affect North Carolina’s streak of clean energy jobs
I’m Brian Gordon, tech reporter for The News & Observer, and this is Open Source, a weekly newsletter on business, labor and technology in North Carolina.
North Carolina is in the running for 246 jobs projects, 14 of which promise investments above $1 billion.
About a third of these projects come from the clean energy industry — vehicle electrification and energy sources like solar panels, offshore wind turbines, and hydrogen fuel cell systems. Clean energy is in fact the top sector for jobs in North Carolina’s pipeline says Christopher Chung of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.
EDPNC heads the state recruitment of new businesses, and while Chung has emphasized his public-private organization isn’t political, he acknowledges the obvious: Who becomes the next president could have significant impacts on the U.S. economy, North Carolina included.
Donald Trump favors tariffs. Kamala Harris proposes taking the small business tax credit from $5,000 to $50,000 to help startups. Those are just two examples. And when it comes to the future of the Inflation Reduction Act, sweeping legislation passed under President Joe Biden, what either Harris or Trump decide next will matter to North Carolina in particular.
The IRA offered employers tax credits for renewable energy projects. Since the bill passed in 2022, North Carolina has secured “clean energy” jobs commitments from Toyota, Boviet Solar, Kempower, Epsilon Advanced Materials and Wolfspeed among others. Chung said this hasn’t been a coincidence.
“The companies that we’ve talked to over the past few years, in sectors like clean energy, have basically said, ‘Look, we’ve been thinking about setting up production in the United States because it is such an attractive market to sell into,’” Chung said. “‘However, things like the IRA give us even greater financial incentive to do that on a faster timetable than we would have otherwise.’”
While Harris backs the IRA, Trump has tied the law to what he’s called “the Green New Scam.” In September, Trump pledged to pull back all “unspent” IRA funds should he win.
No matter who becomes president in January, Chung believes the private market will steer what types of companies look at North Carolina. A Trump presidency won’t mean all clean energy projects evaporate, just as a Harris presidency doesn’t guarantee the state’s love affair with lithium battery factories will continue.
But Chung said next week’s outcomes for both the White House and Congress could “accelerate trends that are already happening.”
Twist to NC worker death investigation
Should a large, politically connected North Carolina farm be fined for heat-related safety violations after one of its workers died on a very hot day? What if the farm had been the subject of a previous heat-related safety complaint? OK, but what if the worker who died on that very hot day didn’t actually die from heat?
Some workplace fatalities are sad but straightforward. The death of José Arturo Gonzalez Mendoza, and the state’s ongoing investigation into Barnes Farming, has been sad and complex.
Clearing my cache
- The chipmaker Nvidia hired in Durham when it was worth $1 trillion. And the chipmaker Nvidia hired in Durham when it was worth $2 trillion. Nvidia now has a market cap of $3.42 trillion (exploding head emoji) as it continues to seek workers for its Bull City office. In last Sunday’s print N&O, the company advertised three specific local openings: a senior project manager, a senior application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) engineer, and a verification engineer.
- The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Caesars Virginia are opening a casino 60 miles from Durham.
- NCInnovation, the new $500 million nonprofit to help commercialize UNC System research, has added three more operational hubs: Fayetteville State, App State and UNC-Wilmington.
- The Swedish fast fashion retailer H&M is backing a textile recycling plant in Cumberland County with the goal of using less virgin polyester and more recycled materials.
Triangle Business Journal was first to report Microsoft has purchased the 1,350-acre megasite in Person County. For what purpose isn’t yet clear. In a statement Thursday to The N&O, Microsoft said, “We don’t have anything to share at this time about the purchase of land in Person County, but we are committed to working with the community as we move forward.”
- How well has Raleigh’s Red Hat performed in its five years under IBM? See for yourself.
- Gov. Roy Cooper joined top state economic officials in Charlotte this week for the annual Southeastern United States/Japan Economic Development Conference. The event is a chance for seven regional states to court Japanese businesses, something North Carolina has accomplished over the decades — especially in recent years.
- VinFast, the electric carmaker promising to one day open a factory in North Carolina, received a $1 billion, non-binding investment from the United Arab Emirates.
- New York City sighting. NC IDEA, a private foundation that awards grants to early-stage startups in North Carolina, flashed on a billboard in the Big Apple earlier this month. The nonprofit Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center gave the shout out to commend the foundation’s recent equity efforts, says NC IDEA CEO Thom Ruhe.
Nine years ago, Ruhe said around 90% of NC IDEA grants went to startups founded by white men in the Triangle area. Today, about 70% of NC IDEA grants go to founders who are women, of color, and/or live in rural areas.
National Tech Happenings
- What eases investor worries over steep AI spending? Microsoft hopes the answer is expectation-beating revenues.
- No recession yet. The U.S. grew its economy at a 2.8% annual pace this summer, fueled by higher consumer spending.
- Facebook’s parent company Meta reported its Reality Labs division, which focuses on virtual/augmented reality programs and hardware, lost $4.4 billion last quarter. Reality Labs increased its revenue year-to-year but still fell below investor expectations.
Since 2020, this VR/AR division has lost more than $58 billion. As recently as last year, Meta had posted multiple job openings with Reality Labs in Durham, but the company no longer lists any Triangle-based jobs on its website.
Thanks for reading!
This story was originally published November 1, 2024 at 9:27 AM with the headline "Open Source: How the election could affect North Carolina’s streak of clean energy jobs."
