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Solar panels operating in Detroit. | Paul Sancya/AP Photo

Josh Siegel reports

Not all Republicans want to repeal the climate law that turns 1 today.

In fact, my colleague Kelsey Tamborrino and I spoke to dozens of people from all corners of the country and discovered that many GOP officials in rural areas are welcoming the billions of dollars in clean energy incentives coming from President Joe Bidens signature legislation.

In Rogers County, Okla., Republican Commissioner Ron Burrows looks at the Inflation Reduction Act and sees jobs 1,000 of them to be exact. At least once the Italian giant Enel opens its $1 billion solar manufacturing plant there in 2025.

Burrows is not alone. Other political and economic leaders in Oklahoma, including Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, are glad to receive the major investments they say theyd never have attracted without the climate law.

You can imagine being in a small rural community and trying to get economic development to come its a challenge, said Rosalie Griffith, a board member of the Rural Economic Development of Inola. But unless you develop, youre going to die.

Burrows said Enels decision to locate in his tiny town east of Tulsa population 1,500 would not have happened without local buy-in.

I just dont see a company making that sort of investment without some level of comfort that its not adversarial, its not split, he said.

By contrast, his local member of Congress GOP Rep. Josh Brecheen views the Inflation Reduction Act through the prism of most national Republicans. Brecheen told me he opposes the use of taxpayer subsidization to bolster Democrats favored green industries and is seeking to repeal the law.

Kelsey and I found that same disconnect between state and local GOP officials in rural areas and their federal representatives across the country.

Theres even a similar, but less dramatic, dynamic unfolding in upstate New York. GOP Rep. Marc Molinaro voted to repeal the Inflation Reduction Acts clean energy incentives, and thats made him a top target of Democrats in the 2024 election. His district is one of 18 that voted for Biden but are held by Republicans.

Inflation Reduction Act money catalyzed Canadian company Zinc8 Energy Solutions decision to locate a planned battery factory in Molinaros purple district.

The project is expected to bring up to 500 new jobs to a Hudson Valley region still suffering from the loss of its manufacturing base in the 1990s. Thats exciting James Quigley, a Republican who drives a Tesla and is the supervisor for the town of Ulster, where Zinc8 plans to locate.

Im a businessman. Ill take the money, thats all I care about, Quigley said. I will move heaven and earth to get projects done over here.

Its Wednesday thank you for tuning in to POLITICOs Power Switch. Im your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy.

A big thanks to Josh Siegel for sharing his and Kelsey Tamborrinos reporting with us today, and to my neighbors for supplying internet as Duke Energy works to restore my and thousands of other customers power following a major outage here in Durham, N.C. I am waiting, if you will, for my power switch fix.

Send your tips, comments, questions to [emailprotected]. And folks, lets keep it classy.

Today in POLITICO Energys podcast: Alex Guilln breaks down how a group of young people in Montana won a historic lawsuit when a judge ruled that the states pro-fossil-fuel laws and policies violated the state constitution.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks with other Democrats and climate activists. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

Looking ahead to 2024 Biden and his Cabinet are celebrating the first year of their massive climate law. But his partys climate hawks are already planning for whats next, writes Emma Dumain.

Climate change is an existential threat, and the IRA was a modest step forward, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told Emma. Many liberal lawmakers and climate advocates say Democrats must make combating global warming the partys top priority the next time they gain unified control of Congress and the White House.

If a Republican president takes the White House, however, the law could be hindered through executive action, write Hannah Northey and Timothy Cama.

That would likely hurt U.S. efforts to be a world leader on climate change and meet international commitments, while undercutting Democrats top achievement in recent years.

Bidens climate law & the state of EVs The Inflation Reduction Act is the biggest policy boost for electric vehicle production in U.S. history, but will its promise translate into actual factories and job gains, along with support across the political spectrum?

David Ferris breaks down how many jobs could be created, whether Republicans will become EV champions and if a domestic EV supply chain is within reach.

Complicating the picture is a push in Texas and other states to create punitive barriers to the EV transition, write Mike Lee and Adam Aton.

Britain declines IRA route to investments U.K. government officials say Britain will not follow in Bidens $369 billion footsteps when it comes to spurring clean energy. Instead, they will rely on existing policy levers to counter the U.S.'s domestic manufacturing incentives, writes Stefan Boscia.

U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt promised to deliver Britains official response to the Inflation Reduction Act this coming fall. The anticipated modest approach may upset U.K. businesses calling for more interventions to compete with Bidens law, but a minister told POLITICO that the money just isnt there.

Delivered hot: Millions of app delivery drivers are feeling the strain as the nation experiences some of the hottest months in recorded history.

Damage control: A new study found that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would save half the worlds glaciers.

A showcase of some of our best subscriber content.

A sign indicates the presence of a pipeline below the ground in Daisytown, Pa., on Oct. 22, 2020. | Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

Pennsylvania researchers have found that children who live within a mile of an oil or gas well are five to seven times more likely to develop lymphoma, a rare form of cancer.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Maui, Hawaii, on Monday after wildfires on the island left over 100 people dead.

Extreme heat in Oregon is testing the effectiveness of new worker protections enacted after a record-shattering heat wave struck the Pacific Northwest in 2021, killing at least 800 people.

Thats it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.

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The small-town Republicans who love IRA - POLITICO