“Whether it’s oil and gas or in this case renewable energy, taxation on energy production is by no means a good policy,” said Neil Bradley, policy director for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a post on X over the weekend. “Electric demand is set to grow significantly, and this tax will raise prices. It needs to be removed.”
“This is extremely destructive for America!” Musk posted on X, saying that Cut could endanger the development of energy-hungry artificial intelligence technology.
Trump says he intends to maximize US energy production by focusing on fossil fuels to enable the electricity industry to supply growth in the AI industry. However, he also pledged to wipe out renewable energy subsidies. The Senate bill rolls back the incentives for wind, solar, batteries and other clean energy technologies created by President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, adding new taxes to these projects if it is not possible to prove that the product is being made without Chinese parts.
These provisions were more strict with credit than previous Senate and House versions.
On Monday morning, energy secretary Chris Wright appeared to be venting warnings about losses in power generation capacity amid rising demand.
“The more you load a grid with an intermittent generation, the worse it will be that it will function during times of maximum demand,” he posted on his social media platform. “One big beautiful bill will help end useless subsidies and bring more reliable energy to Americans!”
But in Texas, grid operator Elcottu said at a board meeting last week that the grid was strong and “preparing for extreme weather challenges” for the new generation that came online this summer, citing new massive solar energy and battery storage.
Unemployment, higher bills
Sean McGarvey, president of the North American Building Trade Union (NABTU), which represents more than 3 million construction workers, has condemned the bill’s impact on employment.
“If enacted, this is considered to be the largest recruitment bill in the country’s history. Simply put, it amounts to the conclusion of over 1,000 Keystone XL Pipeline Projects,” he said in a statement, referring to the oil pipeline project that the Biden administration blocked.
A North Carolina Republican senator, one of two Republicans who voted against moving forward with the bill, warned that overnight blasting bills on the Senate floor, hamstring renewable energy and battery storage would cause a power shortage.
Tillis attracted Yearle from Trump for voting against the allegations to move the bill forward, and he has since said he has no intention of running for reelection.
“What you did is create a blip with power service as there is no gas burning generator right away,” he said on the floor.
Tillis, who works as a consultant covering the utility industry, said the bill ignores the reality of rising demand for power by data centers.
Brian Schatz, a democratic senator from Hawaii, also opposed the impact of the bill.
“This bill will raise prices. 500 gW less energy over the next decade is the amount needed to meet the increased demand,” he said.
“You don’t have to love clean energy or be an environmentalist to understand that this is a fundamental issue of supply and demand,” he said.
(Reporting by Marguerita Choy, edited by Valerie Volcovici)
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