Today, Representatives Deborah Ross (NC-02), Alma Adams (NC-12), and Valerie Foushee (NC-04) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) urging him to eliminate provisions in the Senate budget reconciliation bill that threaten clean energy tax credits. The lawmakers warned that the bill would prevent major projects in the state from moving forward and put North Carolina’s clean energy industry in jeopardy. The Republican legislation phases out tax credits that support investments in wind, solar, and other clean energy technologies. 

In the letter, the lawmakers wrote, “We are extremely alarmed about the potential for existing investments to be halted and future investments to be reconsidered or even moved to other countries if the Senate bill were to be enacted in its current form.”

Since the Inflation Reduction Act became law in 2022, North Carolina has seen a significant increase in clean energy advanced manufacturing. More than 100,000 North Carolinians are already employed in the clean energy sector, and projects planned or underway are expected to support tens of thousands of additional jobs over the next decade.

The lawmakers emphasized that North Carolina business leaders require certainty and reliability to make long-term investment decisions. In May alone, American clean energy companies reportedly canceled fully $1.4 billion in new clean energy factories and projects, fearing the potential impacts of the Republican reconciliation legislation. Congresswomen Ross, Adams, and Foushee urged the Senate leadership to remove the harmful provisions before the bill comes to a final vote. 

Full text of the letter is available here.