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Groups representing more than 2,000 businesses are holding more than 100 meetings today with members of Congress and staff from both parties to discuss how tax relief can help fuel a strong energy and manufacturing economy. Solar lobbyists and energy groups are engaged in a pressure blitz today to urge members of Congress to keep in place the solar, storage and manufacturing credits that are part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Energy groups representing more than 2,000 companies are holding more than 100 meetings with members of Congress and staff from both parties to discuss how the tax credits are helping to spur a strong energy and manufacturing economy. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the companies represent hundreds of billions of dollars of private investment. As part of the pressure campaign, two separate letters have been sent to Congress outlining the facts supporting the claim that tax breaks are an economic driver. A letter sent by SEIA on behalf of its members states that the solar industry currently supports more than 280,000 jobs and points to the success of offshoring clean energy manufacturing. The letter describes how federal policies have boosted the U.S. solar and storage industries, moving the U.S. from seventh place pre-IRA to third in global module manufacturing capacity. It also underscores the importance of increasing domestic energy production to meet the load growth that is resulting from new data centers, American manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and more. Solar and storage help the American economy grow, create jobs, and make America dominant in the energy sector. We urge you to keep solar and storage and manufacturing credits in place in any tax package that may move forward in the 119th Congress. A letter sent by business and trade groups representing 14,150 companies employing a combined 75,623 workers acknowledges the president’s goal of lowering energy costs and strengthening the economy, but points to freight demand, the value of offshoring manufacturing, and the need to compete globally (specifically naming China). The letter urges Congress “to maintain federal tax policies on clean energy and vehicles and to oppose all efforts to weaken or repeal them,” and says the United States stands to lose $66 billion in new investment and $50 billion in exports. Business leaders have acknowledged that repeal will cause many to cut staff or move their businesses overseas. It would also disrupt booming American energy supply chains. Tax policies that boost manufacturing and sales in the Midwest and Southeast, for example, are also driving contracts for mining in Alaska and shipbuilding in Louisiana. This offshoring of major U.S. energy supply chains is a win for the American economy and for our energy security. A robust solar and storage industry in the United States is necessary to fulfill President Trump’s energy vision, said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA. “Solar can be built faster and cheaper than almost any technology,” said Ross Hopper. “With the support of federal clean energy policies, American solar manufacturers can now produce enough modules to meet the entire demand for solar energy in the United States. It is critical that our elected leaders understand the impact of these policies and the jobs and investments they bring to their constituents.” |
