The Biden administration has surpassed a significant milestone by awarding over $100 billion in grants from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a cornerstone of its climate policy. The grants, designed to accelerate clean energy projects, have been distributed across various sectors, including wind, solar, carbon capture, and energy efficiency, with Republican-led states benefiting the most.

The IRA has become a powerful tool for advancing clean energy infrastructure across the nation. Recent notable grants that contributed to the $100 billion milestone include a $119 million contract from the General Services Administration to electrify five federal buildings in the D.C. area, $147 million allocated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for climate change data collection related to fisheries, and $256 million in Rural Energy for America Program grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The IRA also provides ten years of tax incentives for clean energy projects, such as wind and solar installations, and removing these subsidies would probably require congressional action.

The administration hopes this milestone will ensure the continued deployment of clean energy initiatives, even as the climate change skeptic President-elect Donald Trump, has pledged to rescind all unspent IRA funds upon taking office. However, Biden officials have expressed confidence that the funds are protected due to the contractual nature of the grants.

“When funds are obligated, they are protected,” said a senior administration official. “They are subject to the terms of the contract, so when those contracts are signed and executed, this becomes a matter of contract law, not politics.”

As Biden's term nears its end, the administration is on track to exceed its goal of obligating over 80% of IRA funding before January 2025. The IRA includes not only grant funding but also a decade's worth of tax incentives for renewable energy projects. To dismantle these subsidies would likely require congressional action.

Despite Trump's climate change scepticism, the IRA’s reach extends across political lines. In August, 18 Republican House members urged House Speaker Mike Johnson not to cut the law’s incentives, warning that such a move would jeopardize significant investments in clean energy.

The IRA’s provisions have also benefited some of Trump’s close allies, particularly in sectors like carbon capture and sequestration, and clean hydrogen technology.

As the debate continues on the future of the IRA and its grants, the $100 billion milestone underscores the ongoing commitment to clean energy projects—at least for the time being—amid political tensions surrounding climate policy in Washington.