What does the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ mean for wind, solar energy production?
0 views
Jul 9, 2025
The renewable energy industry faces a new series of hurdles after President Trump signed the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ into law on July 4.
View Video Transcript
0:00
With the sweep of a pen, President Trump put the renewable energy industry on notice
0:07
The one big, beautiful bill cuts down on the years solar and wind companies have to qualify for tax incentives
0:13
And a new executive order demands agencies rapidly eliminate the market distortions Trump says these subsidies cause
0:21
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has called these taxpayer incentives wasteful and counterproductive
0:26
But those four incentives say the start and stop for the industry is counterproductive too
0:33
It'll lead to less investment and less building, which will lead to higher prices. Back in 2022, lawmakers extended the decades-old subsidies for solar and wind with the Inflation Reduction Act
0:46
Under that law, energy companies had through 2032 to start construction to qualify for tax incentives
0:52
Once a qualified solar or wind farm was generating power, the company could claim a tax credit on that renewable power for the next 10 years
1:02
The one big beautiful bill, now law, significantly shortens that time frame
1:07
Construction projects that begin within the next 12 months have until 2030 to get online Everyone else must be generating power by the end of 2027 to cash in
1:18
Advanced Energy United's Harry Godfrey says the timeline will put some projects in a tough spot
1:23
That's because it can take two to four years of planning before construction even starts
1:28
You could have projects that are in active development right now that are not going to be able to commence construction here in the next year
1:35
the passage and enactment of this law did mean that those projects got cut off at the knees
1:42
But Michael Kaiser from the National Renewables Cooperative Organization says solar and wind have had more than enough help from taxpayers
1:50
These technologies have had 20 years worth of subsidies and it's time for them to stand on their own two feet if they're going to exist
1:57
Kaiser says he'd prefer to see federal investment shift to power sources
2:01
that can provide electricity around the clock. And as the industry faces this shift in government support
2:07
experts are split on how this could impact the energy grid and the price you pay to power your home
2:13
Search wind and solar to read Keaton Peters' entire story at sand.com or on the SAN app
2:19
For Straight Air News, I'm Simone Del Rosario
#news
#Politics