By Arianna Skibell

Presented by Chevron

Electric vehicles are displayed while charging. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The White House has a bit of good news for electric vehicle buyers: You may be eligible for an immediate $7,500 rebate.

The Treasury Department released new guidance today outlining how buyers can instantly recoup their federal tax credits instead of waiting until they file their taxes, writes James Bikales. The credits were included in President Joe Biden’s Climate law, which allocated $370 billion for clean energy investments.

Under the new guidance, starting in January, buyers who opt for a new EV and make less than $150,000 (or $300,000 for married couples) can get a tax credit of up to $7,500 back from the dealer at the time of purchase. For used cars less than $25,000, buyers who make less than $75,000 (or $150,000 for married couples) can receive a credit of as much as $4,000.

The vehicles must also meet various other Treasury requirements for buyers to get the tax credit — including restrictions on where new vehicles were assembled and where their batteries’ parts and minerals came from.

The Biden administration hopes the move will persuade more people to buy battery-powered cars and trucks amid a tumultuous time for electric models, which the administration is relying on to meet its goal of curbing planet-warming pollution from the transportation sector.

The worker Strike against Michigan’s Big Three is threatening to undermine U.S. automakers’ efforts to ramp up EV production. A few weeks into the strike, Ford hit pause on building a $3.5 billion EV battery plant in Michigan that would be the first to manufacture next-gen lithium, iron and phosphate batteries on U.S. soil.

And conservative politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are ramping up their anti-EV rhetoric, making the battle against electric cars a campaign issue.

While a point-of-sale rebate is unlikely to fully address the larger hurdles to EV adoption, it could be key for easing one of consumers’ top concerns: the price tag. A recent George Washington University study found that prospective EV buyers, especially lower-income ones, overwhelmingly preferred an instant rebate over a tax credit.

Thank goodness it's Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to [email protected]. And folks, let’s keep it classy.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off this Monday for Indigenous Peoples Day but will be back in your inboxes Tuesday.

A message from Chevron:

Chevron knows methane management is critical for a lower carbon future. We’re striving to lead in methane management with innovative practices, partnerships, and new technologies. These are a few ways we’re aiming to keep methane in the pipe.

Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Scott Waldman breaks down how Virginia's elections could affect action on climate change, with Republicans hoping to regain full control of the Legislature and the White House watching closely.

A message from Chevron:

United Auto Workers member Ryan Kosloski holds a picket sign near a General Motors assembly plant in Delta Township, Mich., on Sept. 29. | Paul Sancya/AP Photo

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain announced today that the union would not not expand its strike against the Big Three auto manufacturers for the time being, citing “significant progress” in recent negotiations.

Fain said General Motors has agreed "in writing" to place the company's electric vehicle battery production under the union's national contract. But he cautioned the union could reverse course if negotiations hit more speed bumps.

“We don’t strike for the hell of it,” he said. “The Big Three know we are not messing around, and they know if they want to avoid more strikes, they will have to pony up.”

Claudine Hellmuth/POLITICO (graphic); iStock (images)

Bigger may not be better
As the Biden administration boosts offshore wind to help meet its climate targets, developers are trying to make wind power inexpensive by installing increasingly large and powerful turbines aimed at improving efficiency, writes Minho Kim.

But as developers plan for turbines that stand 800 feet — taller than the Golden Gate Bridge — federal officials and experts are warning that the models will take years to produce and could substantially increase costs.

Greens join UAW fight
A coalition of the nation’s largest climate and environmental groups is launching a campaign to support striking autoworkers — from hitting the picket line to text banking and even canvassing dealerships across the nation that are affiliated with the Big Three, write Hannah Northey and Mike Lee.

While environmentalists and labor advocates have a historically rocky relationship, green groups see the UAW strike as critical to fighting climate change.

EU backs massive climate target
The European Union quietly took a major step toward pledging to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040 this week, write Karl Mathiesen and Zia Weise.

Legislative debate on the target is likely to predominate EU deliberations next year. If enacted, the goal would lay down a benchmark for the EU’s peers in the developed world.

'Gobsmackingly bananas': An extremely warm September has alarmed climate scientists.

Explainer: How government neglect and misguided policies doomed Libya to deadly floods.

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Children attempt to cross a flooded area in Pakistan on the back of a satellite dish in August 2022. | Fida Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

Extreme weather events and climate disasters displaced more than 43 million children around the globe between 2016 and 2021, according to a new report from UNICEF.

A drop in hydropower generation caused global carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector to increase slightly in the first half of 2023, despite a surge in wind and solar.

Western efforts to crimp Russian oil revenues have run aground with real prices floating far higher than a theoretical cap imposed by G7+ countries at the end of last year.

That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

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A message from Chevron:

By 2028, our upstream methane intensity target is set to be 53% below the 2016 baseline. To help us get there, we’ve trialed over 13 advanced methane technologies including satellites, planes, drones, and fixed sensors to help reduce methane emissions intensity. In the Permian, we have deployed real-time autonomous optimizers that continuously monitor facilities and well conditions to help prevent flaring, venting and well shutdowns. Developing new solutions to provide energy that’s affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner, that’s energy in progress.

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