E&E News highlights reactions to the Senate Finance Committee’s draft tax bill, including United President and CEO Heather O'Neill, who warned that scaling back clean energy tax credits risks undermining job growth, investment momentum, and the stability of the nation’s energy transition.
Clean energy advocates have been flooding Senate offices in recent weeks after some were stunned the House took a sledgehammer to clean energy tax credits. Many were still combing through the text at press time, but some offered initial takeaways.
The Edison Electric Institute released a statement saying the Senate version included “more reasonable timelines” and welcomes the return of “transferability.”
“Financial certainty and access to cost-effective financing are critical tools for electric companies as they continue to make needed investments to meet rising customer demand and to expand generation capacity,” the utility trade association said in a statement. “These modifications are a step in the right direction, and we thank Chairman Crapo for his leadership in balancing business certainty with fiscal responsibility.”
Heather O’Neill, CEO of Advanced Energy United, was not as positive. The group includes a wide array of interests, from energy companies to automakers and technology firms.
“The cumulative impact of the initial Senate Finance language will be to imperil those projects, chill investment, destroy jobs, raise electricity costs, and undermine American energy abundance,” she said in a statement.
“Businesses can’t invest without consistent tax policy. By axing a range of long-standing tax policies, this proposal undercuts business certainty while robbing consumers of the opportunity to lower their energy costs.”
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