Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- Utah's solar industry urges U.S. Senate to restore energy tax credits in "big, beautiful" budget bill.
- Business leaders warn of potential job losses, citing 330,000 solar jobs at risk nationally.
- Sens. John Curtis and Mike Lee are key figures in the tax credits debate, and Curtis has urged the Senate to reconsider ending them.
SALT LAKE CITY — Business leaders in Utah are warning of potentially dire economic impacts if the U.S. Senate moves ahead with plans to cut green energy tax credits in President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
Those credits, included in the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, have been targeted by House Republicans and would be phased out within 60 days of the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — at least as it's currently written. The White House took aim at the energy credits Tuesday, celebrating that the megabill "repeals and rescinds every 'green' corporate welfare subsidy in Democrats' so-called 'Inflation Reduction Act.'"
But as senators rush to put their own stamp on the bill to send back to the House ahead of Trump's July 4 deadline, businesses in Utah that have benefited from the credits are urging Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis to help rescue them. Tax credits for energy have been around for decades, they argue, and shouldn't be politicized simply because the latest iteration was approved under former President Joe Biden.
In fact, they argue, the tax credits could be key to accomplishing Trump's goal of American energy dominance.
"I fear that these specific credits are being lumped into and having a label put on them as being either progressive or leftist ... when that's not the case," said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce. "The solar credits have been something that's been bipartisan for a long, long time, but more importantly they ought to be taken out of the political realm at all.
"We ought to be asking ourselves: 'What's good for the economy?' And certainly what's good for the economy is not doing anything that would risk losing thousands of jobs," Miller said.
Some 330,000 solar industry jobs are at risk if the tax credits aren't extended, according to a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association, which estimates Utah could lose 2,700 jobs. Miller said that only captures the direct job losses, however, and up to 7,500 jobs could be impacted by downstream effects.
"Manufacturing is one of those industries where it has a multiplier effect," he said, "so one job in manufacturing can create, for example, three or four jobs throughout the economy just by virtue of its impact."
The tax credits aren't just a boon to local economies; they will help the U.S. meet growing energy needs as an artificial intelligence arms race heats up with China. Paul Dickson, president and chief revenue officer of Sunrun, which merged with Vivint Solar in 2020, argued the "stigma" of the Inflation Reduction Act is misleading policymakers to push for the cuts.
"Lawmakers are open to cutting those things, not fully understanding some of the implications," he said. "Essentially, the proposal that currently sits is to cut this multidecade existing motivation for promoting the generation of new electrons onto the grid."
As the country's largest purchaser of Tesla Powerwall batteries — used to store solar energy for powering homes during outages or overnight — Dickson said the spending bill would significantly hinder Sunrun's ability to continue to bring more power generation and storage online.
The Lehi-based company's current assets are equivalent to the energy capacity of seven nuclear power plants, Dickson said, and each year Sunrun adds the equivalent of an additional nuclear plant's worth of power capacity.
"So, we're bringing on meaningful supply, and the current proposal would kill all of that generation and pull it off the grid," he said.
Miller said the solar industry has an outsized footprint in the Beehive State because of Vivint, a homegrown company that embraced solar, and because it has the workforce to sell home solar door-to-door.
"These are young men and young women who are used to going out and knocking on doors when they serve missions," he said. "And they come back and they go to college, and then they spend the summer knocking on doors — but instead of handing out copies of the Book of Mormon, they're signing people up for home security systems or home solar installations."
Solar advocates already have one of Utah's senators on board with reversing the rollback on tax credits: Curtis told reporters last week the Senate should reconsider the cuts and penned a Deseret News op-ed to that effect Wednesday.
Miller and Dickson said they're appealing to Lee, who has expressed his own issues with the spending included in the bill and told the Deseret News in April he wants to overturn the Inflation Reduction Act "lock, stock and barrel." Dickson said Lee is "incredibly thoughtful, understands the issue thoroughly and is actively engaging with our team and his staff ... to help make thoughtful recommendations for an appropriate path forward."
"Sen. Lee is a friend," Miller said, adding that he has not spoken to the senior senator but plans to by the end of the week. "He's been helpful in the past. I expect that what would matter most to him are the issue of Utah jobs and then his point of a level playing field (for different types of energy) and getting rid of tax credits.
"But my message to him would be: Let's not cut off our nose to spite our face and get rid of an important part of our energy portfolio — nationally and especially in Utah."
John Curtis, Bill Gates push for geothermal
With Congress out of session last week, Curtis toured the Fervo Energy Cape Station geothermal project in Beaver along with billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates. Curtis has advocated for an "all-of-the-above" approach to energy and called geothermal "critical" to making energy "affordable, reliable and clean" for Americans.
"Utah is at the forefront of energy innovation, and the Cape Station geothermal project in Beaver is a powerful example of that progress," the senator said. "This project highlights what's possible when private investment is matched with government collaboration to provide the right tools for success. I'm hopeful it will drive new opportunity, strengthen rural communities and showcase the kind of results that come from pairing innovation with Utah's work ethic."
Gates said the project "is what happens when great science, smart policy and American entrepreneurship come together."
"Enhanced geothermal is one of the most promising solutions for delivering reliable, low-carbon power, especially as demand for affordable energy grows," he added.
