The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) offers tax credits to clean-energy projects that are sited within an “energy community.” But how does the IRA define energy communities? And are these communities indeed most vulnerable in the transition to clean energy?

In this blog post, we will unpack what it means to be an “energy community,” point to some of the oddities of the IRA’s definition of those communities, and discuss whether the IRA effectively targets energy-producing communities that may be most hard hit by changes in the energy landscape.