The Senate Committee on Finance unveiled its portion of the GOP reconciliation package on Monday night, leaving much to be desired when it comes to cutting Biden-era green energy tax credits, several energy sector experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Compared to the House version, the bill text expands provisions for green energy tax credits granted under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which not a single Republican voted for in 2022. The “one, big beautiful” bill text released by the Senate Finance Committee on Monday would secure credits for nuclear, hydropower and geothermal technologies and fail to immediately terminate solar and wind credits, a bad sign for those who hoped the Senate would devastate the Democrats’ climate agenda, energy policy experts told the DCNF.
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“All so-called green energy initiatives in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act are profligate pork that are counterproductive to both the economy and the environment,” president of the Heartland Institute James Taylor wrote to the DCNF. “Any Republican who advocates for keeping any of those horrendous boondoggles will have brought it upon themselves if they [lose the] primaries and [get] voted out of office.”
The final House version would require that wind and solar projects must begin construction within 60 days of the bill’s passage and be operational by the end of 2028 to be eligible for tax credits. The Senate Finance Committee’s bill eliminates the 60-day construction start requirement and introduces a gradual phase-out for wind and solar tax credits, reducing them to 60% of their original value beginning in 2026, 20% in 2027 and fully phasing them out by 2028, according to the bill text.
Democrats initially touted the IRA as a way to reduce inflation, though Biden later admitted it was a vehicle to promote his climate agenda. Carving out protections for IRA green energy credits runs counter to President Donald Trump’s energy goals and will lead to a weaker electrical grid, policy experts told the DCNF.
The reconciliation package can still be adjusted, but if the committee has its way, solar and wind subsidies would be gradually phased out instead of immediately eliminted. Some energy sector experts are concerned that this drawn-out timeline could lead to an indefinite continuation.
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Instead of the House bill’s “placed in service” end for solar and wind subsidies, the Senate’s Finance proposal contains a “construction begins” deadline of 2025-2027 or 2029-2031 depending on the specific credit, according to the bill texts and energy sector experts.
“The Senate Finance text for the Big Beautiful Bill dramatically weakens the already disappointing House-passed bill with respect to Green New Scam wind and solar subsidies. Under the House bill, wind and solar facilities must be ‘placed in service’ by the end of 2028 to be eligible for subsidies,” Steve Milloy, senior fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute and former Trump EPA transition team member told the DCNF. “While that is bad enough, the Senate finance text replaces that with a mere ‘construction must begin’ by the end of 2031 provision.”
As Senate Republicans rush to meet Majority Leader John Thune’s July 4 goal, numerous GOP senators have aired their grievances with provisions pertaining to IRA green energy subsidies, while several other senators have expressed their desire to salvage or adjust some tax credits that House Republicans looked to limit in May. Given that Republicans currently hold 53 Senate seats, the defection of just four lawmakers in the chamber would be enough to block the reconciliation package.
“The Senate’s weakening of the One Big Beautiful Bill is a betrayal of President Trump’s American energy dominance agenda. By replacing firm deadlines with loophole-ridden timelines, the Senate is extending massive subsidies for wind and solar,” Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, told the DCNF. “This is not reform; it’s a continuation of corporate welfare that burdens working families with rising electricity costs.”
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
