House bill would choke US solar investment, says top trade group

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(Reuters) -Legislation advanced by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives last week could put 300 domestic solar and energy storage factories at risk and kill nearly 300,000 jobs, a top solar trade group warned on Monday.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

The analysis by the Solar Energy Industries Association comes amid a lobbying blitz aimed at convincing U.S. lawmakers to safeguard clean energy tax credits, which in the Republican plan would be phased out more quickly and face new restrictions on the use of Chinese-made components.

KEY QUOTE

“If this proposal becomes law, nearly 300 U.S. factories —mostly in red states — could close or never open, and we simply won’t have the energy we need to power American innovation in AI and data centers,” SEIA President Abigail Ross Hopper said in a statement.

CONTEXT

The proposed legislation targets key subsidies from former President Joe Biden’s climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, that support wind and solar power, hydrogen, and other climate-friendly technologies. Most of the solar and storage factories that benefit from the IRA tax credits are in Republican states that voted for President Donald Trump.

BY THE NUMBERS

The budget proposal would result in the loss of $220 billion in solar and storage investments by 2030, SEIA estimated.

It would also cost 292,000 solar jobs, including 86,000 in manufacturing.

Solar and storage, under existing policies, are expected to account for 73% of U.S. electric capacity additions between 2025 and 2030, making the sector critical to meeting soaring U.S. power demand.

WHAT’S NEXT

SEIA is urging Congress to revise the legislation, which still has several hurdles to clear before it can become law.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom; editing by Edward Tobin)