Big federal budget bill advances with help of Utah senators
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After being debated for days, Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Senator John Curtis, R-Utah, are among those who voted to advance the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" to push President Donald Trump's agenda forward.
Curtis was one of a handful of Republicans who wanted to preserve clean energy tax credits but the Senate made major cuts to tax incentives for wind and solar projects. Now, the bill does not allow for a project to get the tax credit if it does not begin producing electricity by 2028.
Sean Gallagher, senior vice president of policy for the Solar Energy Industries Association, said the change could reverse years of progress and innovation.
"It has really devastating impacts," Gallagher emphasized. "Not just to the solar industry, but to American energy security and national security. Solar energy is putting more new power on the grid than every other fuel source combined in the last several years."
Curtis was able to remove a provision that would've enacted a new tax on solar and wind projects and ended a ban on solar leasing. While Curtis expressed gratitude to Senate leaders for including his changes, Gallagher hopes the concessions do not hinder the industry's ability to meet demand. The budget bill now goes back to the U.S. House for what could be the final vote.
Projects started before the bill is enacted would be protected from penalties and setbacks. Current projects would also retain all of their tax-credit value through December 2027. Gallagher argued the tax credits, passed under the Inflation Reduction Act, are working.
"Every dollar spent on clean energy tax credits has a $2.67 return in the form of lower energy costs for consumers, and taxes paid by clean energy infrastructure projects, mostly property taxes," Gallagher pointed out.
The Trump administration has called for energy dominance and so far has focused on supporting more development of fossil fuels over renewable energy. And while wind and solar energy are still popular across the board, recent polling indicates some people, especially Republicans, are less supportive of renewable energy than in Trump's first term.
