Troubles don't seem to end for the US solar industry as now President Joe Biden's hugely successful incentive-based scheme Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that has prompted several GW level solar manufacturing announcements of late, is under threat as the House Republicans have passed a new act to implement 'commonsense spending reforms' which may 'overturn' the IRA.
Signed by Biden in August 2022, the IRA became a law through which the US government has promised $369 billion investment in clean energy deployment and manufacturing efforts. It was a hard won victory for the current administration and was made possible with Senator Joe Manchin agreeing to back it (see Inflation Reduction Act 2022 Now A Law).
Now, House Republicans have come together to 'rein in' what they believe is 'wasteful spending that has fueled the inflation crisis and sparked the fastest interest rate hike in decades'. It promises to save $4.8 trillion through FY2033.
The Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 is a partisan proposal of the Republicans that aims to address the debt ceiling and reduce federal spending.
Referring to an assessment of the act by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) says it will repeal most of the IRA's energy and climate tax credit expansions—saving as much as $540 billion in energy tax credits and spending over the 10 years, rescind most of the $80 billion of IRA's increased Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding and make changes to energy, regulatory and permitting policies, among other measures.
It will allow for additional sales of oil and gas leases. Its passing will also require Congress to approve any federal rule or regulation that the Office of Management and Budget determines will have an economic impact of $100 million or more.
According to the House Committee on Ways and Means, the Limit, Save, Grow Act will protect taxpayers by cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in 'special interest green energy handouts that are flowing into the pockets of the wealthy, the Chinese Communist Party, and billion-dollar corporations' with special mention of solar.
Local solar energy associations are disappointed. President and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) said, "The IRA tax incentives that would be repealed by this legislation have spurred American companies to announce dozens of new clean energy generation and manufacturing projects that are driving economic development, lowering energy costs, and creating good-paying jobs in red and blue states across the country. Backtracking on these popular programs would harm our economy, weaken American competitiveness in the booming global clean energy marketplace, and undermine our climate goals."
President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Abigail Ross Hopper said the solar and storage industry supports livelihoods of 255,000 families. With the IRA, an additional 200,000 jobs are expected to be created with over $600 billion in private investment over the next decade. So far, more than 47 GW solar manufacturing announcements have been made thanks to the IRA.
"Clean energy investments are popular in red and blue states alike. On a bipartisan basis, Americans want jobs, domestic manufacturing and energy security, and this legislation will stop that progress in its tracks. Congress must reject this harmful proposal," added Hopper.
Nonetheless, calling the act a 'reckless attempt to extract extreme concessions as a condition for the United States simply paying the bills it has already incurred', President Biden has said he will veto it if presented with it, which is also what he plans to do for the proposal to repeal his 2-year pause on solar tariffs on solar imports (see Hope Shines On For US Solar Developers).