The budget reconciliation process enables Congress to quickly consider and advance fiscal legislation, with topics spanning the country’s revenues, spending, federal debt limit, and the budgetary surplus or deficit. Throughout this process, the clean energy tax credits, which have created jobs, spurred local investment, bolstered the grid’s reliability, and contributed to lower electricity prices for Americans, were front and center in the committee meetings, where legislators placed them on the metaphorical chopping block.
In the early hours of the morning on Wednesday, May 21, the U.S. House narrowly pushed the reconciliation bill through with a 215-214 vote, where unfortunately, the House has taken a sledgehammer to these vital energy investments. Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) President Heather Reams reacted in a statement, “While we are disappointed that energy tax credits were repealed and substantially cut in the package passed by the House, we are grateful for the champions who have fought to protect critical provisions that incentivize investment and economic growth. As the bill progresses to the Senate, we hope changes will be made to address and protect these important tax credits, which are working to secure American energy dominance. Without these provisions, the United States is at risk of falling behind adversarial nations in the global energy race—not to mention, American jobs and local economies will suffer a tremendous loss.”
Under the House version, clean energy projects would need to start construction within 60 days of the bill’s passage, have completely China-free supply chains by January 1, and start operating by 2029 to benefit from the Section 45Y production credit or the Section 48E investment credit, both of which would phase out beginning in 2029, thereby creating a nearly impossible-to-meet timeline. Other tax credits, such as those used to bolster residential energy efficiency or to purchase clean vehicles, would be eliminated outright after this year. If passed by the Senate and signed by the President, the legislation threatens to unwind an incredible amount of investment and energy development across the country, particularly in North Carolina.
Domestic clean energy investment is at risk and must be protected to help create a stronger national economy with direct benefits for local communities. A report commissioned by the American Clean Power Association (ACP) and conducted by ICF at the end of 2024 found that between 2025 and 2035, there would be $3.8 trillion in net spending across the American economy due to the tax credits, with a more than fourfold return on taxpayer investment. These energy investments would ultimately grow the American economy by contributing $1.9 trillion to the national GDP. In North Carolina alone, they would lead to $103 billion in spending and grow the state’s economy by $51 billion.
Since 2022, these tax credits have already spurred $321 billion in investment across the country in clean energy projects and the construction of new industrial and manufacturing facilities, 2,369 of which have opened their doors for business. The Clean Investment Monitor’s May 2025 report adds that $522 billion in investment remains, which will support even more American jobs by investing in construction and installation at such factories, with 2,217 more plants yet to be built.
Unfortunately, Energy Innovation’s May 2025 report estimates that the House reconciliation bill will undercut many of these 7,000 existing and planned projects. The uncertainty regarding federal support for clean energy between January and March of this year has already cost $6.9 billion due to project cancellations, and a significant portion of the planned $522 billion in investment may never come to fruition. The organization calculates that during the reconciliation window from 2026 to 2034, eliminating these investments will cause the cumulative national GDP to decrease by almost $1.1 trillion. The report also says the bill will cost the country more than 830,000 jobs in 2030 and nearly 720,000 jobs in 2035.
Photo Courtesy Prolec GE
On the other hand, the country would experience a renaissance in energy and manufacturing jobs if the clean energy tax credits are maintained. ACP and ICF report that over the next decade, these investments would create 13.7 million jobs in total, or about 1.2 million jobs per year on average, ranging from over 600,000 in 2025 to nearly 1.5 million in 2032. About 32,100 total jobs per year would be created in North Carolina alone.
According to data from the Clean Economy Tracker, many clean energy manufacturing companies setting up shop in North Carolina have committed to or already have created more than 21,000 jobs, nearly half of which were announced since the passage of the clean energy investments in 2022. In 2021, Toyota selected Liberty as the location of its $1.29 billion automotive battery manufacturing plant, Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina, which it expected to employ 1,750 North Carolinians. Since 2022, it has announced a $2.5 billion first expansion that would add 350 jobs, a $2.1 billion second expansion, and an $8 billion third expansion that would add 3,000 jobs. The facility is now committed to employing over 5,000 North Carolinians.
Meanwhile, in 2023, Kempower announced it would invest $41 million to build an electric vehicle charging station manufacturing facility in Durham County that would employ 601 people, Epsilon Advanced Materials announced it would invest $649.9 million and create 500 jobs in Brunswick County to produce graphite for lithium-ion batteries, and Forge Nano announced it would invest over $165 million to launch Forge Battery and construct a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Wake County, bringing over 100 jobs with an estimated annual payroll impact of over $16 million. In 2024, In February of last year, Siemens Energy announced a $149.8 million investment to bring the company’s first American power transformer manufacturing facility and 559 new jobs to Mecklenburg County, Boviet Solar announced a more than $294 million investment to bring a solar panel manufacturing facility and 900 new jobs to Greenville in Pitt County, with a projected 47% return on investment of public dollars, and Natron Energy announced a $1.4 billion investment to bring a sodium-ion battery manufacturing plant and 1,000 jobs to Edgcomb County. This year, Pennsylvania Transformer Technology announced it would spend more than $102 million to expand its power and distribution transformer manufacturing operations in Raeford, adding 217 new jobs to Hoke County, while Prolec-GE Waukesha announced it would spend $140 million to build a second power transformer manufacturing facility in Goldsboro, bringing 330 new jobs to Wayne County.
Construction and operations roles at energy generation facilities are also threatened, as is the property tax revenue they would contribute to local communities. Last year, EDP Renewables started operations at its 74 MW Misenheimer Solar Park, which will contribute more than $27 million to local landowners and $3.5 million to be disbursed to local government over its lifetime. This year, Apex Clean Energy’s Timbermill Wind began producing power, after creating 200 construction jobs and paying $25 million to local contractors, with $33 million in tax revenue still expected for Chowan County over its lifetime. Meanwhile, Duke Energy is developing the 100 MW Longleaf Solar Center in New Hill, consisting of 215,000 solar panels, which will create 300 new construction jobs and provide tax revenue for Wake County.
Photo Courtesy EDP Renewables North America
ACP and ICF note that investments resulting from the clean energy tax credits would add $846 billion to disposable household income in the next decade, or nearly $77 billion per year, providing $20 billion in total additional income for North Carolinians; however, if they are stripped away, North Carolinians and Americans will feel more economic pain. Rhodium Group estimates that American energy costs could increase by as much as 7% by 2035, up to $290 more per year, which will translate into an increase in cumulative annual energy costs of more than $16 billion in 2030 and more than $33 billion by 2035.
The increase would be due to the loss of new generation capacity, with 57% to 72% less new clean capacity expected to be installed on the grid over the coming decade, and higher costs for fossil fuels. This comes when the country’s electricity demand forecast is set to increase from 2.8% to 15.8% by 2029, mainly driven by the demands of data centers and domestic industrial facilities. Without support for renewables, we cannot meet Americans’ energy demand or maintain our energy independence and dominance. The House reconciliation bill would cut out the clean energy sector at a time when Americans’ electricity needs are higher than ever and when the country needs every tool in its energy tool belt.
Photo Courtesy Senator Thom Tillis
Moreover, polling indicates that most North Carolinians are in favor of clean energy. Conservatives for Clean Energy found that 72.2% of North Carolinian voters said they would be more likely to support a lawmaker or candidate who supports policies that encourage renewable energy options.
As the polling shows, there is widespread support for clean energy in the state. In an op-ed published in The Dispatch commenting on Toyota’s Liberty plant, Wendy Jackson from Clemmons, North Carolina wrote, “Continuing to invest in clean energy and related technology, including electric vehicles and batteries, will help us continue to create much-needed, 21st-century jobs for hardworking North Carolinians, strengthen local businesses and communities, and power a stronger, more resilient economy for our entire state.”
In an op-ed published in The Daily Courier, local business owner and former Rutherford County sheriff Philip Byers discussed the importance of clean energy in the face of climate events affecting the state: “Lengthy disruptions in power pose a threat to the safety and well-being of our communities, especially for seniors, low-income, or medically vulnerable individuals. These disruptions and threats to energy reliability in general also have a tremendous, negative impact on small businesses like mine—and countless others throughout North Carolina and across the country—undermining local jobs and our entire economy. North Carolina’s congressional delegation, particularly Sen. Tillis, should support smart investments in clean energy, including those passed by Congress as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law as well as the Inflation Reduction Act.” Both legislative chambers must pass identical bills deciding the fate of these credits before the package can be sent to the President’s desk.
Sen. Tillis has always supported clean energy. As he told Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES), “I have always been an advocate for an all-of-the-above approach to energy, dating back to my days in the North Carolina General Assembly.” He elaborated on the state’s clean energy workforce, “We are turning out skilled workers at all levels of the supply chain, and industry has worked closely with our state and local communities to fund workforce programs that are key to staffing these major investments. From the Toyota battery plant in Liberty to the lithium mines in Cleveland and Gaston Counties, we have the full clean energy supply chain investing in North Carolina, which creates a draw for other suppliers and vendors in this space to look to North Carolina as a place to invest.”
In April, he also joined other legislators in a letter to Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the majority leader, advocating for tax credits implemented in 2022. As they discussed in the letter, an all-of-the-above energy approach is vital to American prosperity and national security, and it aligns with both conservative values and the goals of the Trump administration.
The senators explained their hesitance to rip the rug out from the American businesses that rely on the tax credits to make substantial investments in expanding their domestic energy production or manufacturing presence: “A wholesale repeal, or the termination of certain individual credits, would create uncertainty, jeopardizing capital allocation, long-term project planning, and job creation in the energy sector and across our broader economy.” The senators also highlighted their unwillingness to place added hardship on American families: “Given rising energy demand, it is imperative that any modifications to the tax code avoid worsening the economic pressures that American households and businesses already face. For energy credits that provide a direct passthrough benefit to ratepayers, repeals would translate into immediate utility bill increases, placing additional strain on hardworking Americans.”
According to Punchbowl News, Sen. Tillis recently warned that these tax credits, which contribute to economic growth, are being cut at too great a scale. “We need to be smart about where capital has been deployed,” he said, “and to minimize the impact of the message we send businesses that every two or four years, we have massive changes in our priorities for energy transition.”
North Carolinians have recognized Senator Thom Tillis’s (R-NC) efforts to support clean energy investments. In an op-ed published in N.C. Political News reacting to this letter, Advantage Renewables CEO Steven Lichtin wrote, “Senator Tillis was right — a repeal of the current tax credit framework would create mass uncertainty, jeopardize capital allocation, upend long-term project planning, and slash job creation in the energy sector and across our entire economy… Regardless of where you stand on renewables, the situation is clear; this is not about ideology, it’s about business. A thriving industry that has invested heavily into American-made energy and created countless, high-paying American jobs is on the verge of being upended. Senator Tillis and his colleagues know what is at stake. For that, I sincerely thank them.” He concluded, “I have an honest request for Senator Tillis: stay the course.”
