US energy trade associations have launched an urgent lobbying campaign to protect clean energy tax incentives under threat from the Republican-led budget plan, which proposes rolling back core provisions of former President Joe Biden’s landmark climate legislation—the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
On Monday, the House Ways and Means Committee introduced proposals to phase out or eliminate several significant tax credits aimed at accelerating the energy transition. These include subsidies for wind, solar, hydrogen, and other emissions-reducing technologies, prompting immediate pushback from industry groups.
Advanced Energy United (AEU), a coalition representing companies such as NRG, Sunrun, Enel, and Microsoft, responded with a national advertising campaign targeting lawmakers in five key states. The campaign highlights the economic impact of IRA-driven investments in their constituencies and is set to run until Congress votes on the final budget, expected by 26 May. AEU described it as a six-figure initiative.
“Without these credits, American families will be worse off, and US manufacturers who have invested in domestic production will be forced to shut down lines, lay off workers, and relocate abroad,” warned Heather O’Neill, CEO of AEU.
Despite Republican opposition to the IRA in 2022, advocacy group Climate Power noted that Republican-led states and districts have received 58% of new jobs tied to the legislation’s investments.
In a parallel push, hydrogen sector lobbyists descended on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, urging Congress to preserve the 45V tax credit, which supports low-carbon hydrogen projects. The credit is currently set to expire in 2033, but the committee’s proposal would bring that forward to 2026—a move industry representatives say would derail long-term projects. They argue the tax credit could support 60,000 jobs annually between 2025 and 2035 and contribute $12 billion per year to GDP.
Companies and organisations including Cummins, EQT, the ports of Long Beach and Corpus Christi, and the American Petroleum Institute issued a joint letter to Speaker Mike Johnson and Committee Chair Jason Smith, urging them to retain the credit or risk conceding industrial leadership to China.
The solar industry has also joined the resistance. Abigail Ross Hopper, President of the Solar Energy Industries Association, called on member companies to lobby lawmakers to preserve the residential solar credit, which is set to expire at the end of the year. She warned that additional changes could undermine commercial solar investment and encouraged public participation in the Solar Powers America campaign to generate constituent letters to Congress.
The fate of these clean energy incentives will be determined in the coming days as lawmakers negotiate the broader tax package.
