State Promotion of Heat Pumps Challenged by Labor, Grid Issues

States promising to quadruple the current number of heat pumps in the US face shortages of the workers who install the systems, an electric grid that still relies heavily on fossil fuels, and questions about how to best steward millions of federal dollars.

Twenty-five US states comprising the US Climate Alliance are creating new programs and leveraging federal funds to install more heat pumps. The heating and cooling systems, which have been around for more than a century but are quickly gaining popularity, are a cleaner alternative to furnaces and air conditioners that could cut greenhouse emissions drastically, especially ...