More than a hundred renewable-energy investors representing hundreds of billions in capital are making a last-minute bid to protect wind and solar tax incentives from the One Big Brutal Bill Act (H.R. 1), which is nearing Senate passage.
On Thursday, the group, calling their effort Secure US Energy, took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal calling for passage of a “final bill” that is less restrictive on solar-panel imports, preserves the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Clean Electricity Production Credit and Clean Electricity Investment Credit, and that phases out the IRA’s Residential Solar Credit in 2027 instead of 2026.
In an attempt to reach Republican senators, the letter uses Trump-friendly framing, emphasizing “low-cost, reliable, and abundant energy,” “American energy production and manufacturing,” and the need to “deploy all sources of energy” to win the “AI race.”
The investors also cite the Energy Innovation report that finds OBBBA’s elimination of renewable-energy incentives would “raise American households’ annual energy bills by a combined $170 billion and reduce cumulative GDP by $1.1 trillion during the budget window, eliminate 790,000 jobs in 2035, and forgo 330 gigawatts of new electricity capacity by 2035.”
Full text of the letter:
A Call for American Energy Leadership, Manufacturing, and Market-Driven Innovation
Open Letter From US Energy Investors
To Members of Congress and the American Public,Thank you for your commitment to strengthening America’s energy leadership and rebuilding our nation’s industrial base and supply chains. As you know, low-cost, reliable, and abundant energy is fundamental to America’s economic competitiveness and national security.
We are a group of more than 70 energy investors representing hundreds of billions in capital committed to building America’s energy future. As Congress considers changes to the tax code through the budget reconciliation process, we write to express concern over proposals that would undermine American energy production and manufacturing, and to urge you to protect what is working and pursue improvements to unleash more energy, reduce costs, and accelerate innovation.
We commend the Senate for incorporating key improvements to the House-passed budget reconciliation bill, which—as written—would raise American households’ annual energy bills by a combined $170 billion and reduce cumulative GDP by $1.1 trillion during the budget window, eliminate 790,000 jobs in 2035, and forgo 330 gigawatts of new electricity capacity by 2035.
We support the Senate’s revisions, including preserving transferability and aligning the credits to a commence construction timeline, which will safeguard projects important to meeting near-term demand and manufacturing goals. We strongly urge that the final bill also include the following changes to address provisions that would cause uncertainty and instability in the energy and financial sectors.
- Narrow the definition of “effective control” and clarify rules around material assistance and cost ratio rules within Foreign Entities of Concern (“FEOC”) restrictions.
- Keep Sections 45Y and 48E for wind and solar projects through 2030 based on the ‘commence construction’ timeline.
- Delay the sunset of the 25D Residential Solar Credit until the end of 2027 and restore 48E access for third-party ownership and financing for wind and solar.
These changes will help ensure the final bill does not unintentionally undermine American companies and drive investments abroad. They’ll help keep energy costs low for American households and businesses.
The current approach, while improved, sends the wrong signal to the market and does not provide enough time to ensure responsible compliance. It would abruptly roll back investment and production tax credits that have catalyzed hundreds of billions in private capital to quickly bring electricity to the grid and reshore manufacturing. This sudden change in policy creates financial uncertainty for American energy companies at a time when the country needs more energy than ever.
This is an economic, security, and geopolitical issue. If the U.S. abandons its domestic energy markets now, we risk ceding future leadership in energy, innovation, AI, and critical infrastructure. The bill’s current structure would weaken our hand in a global economic race we can—and must—win. The AI race will be won by 2030, and we must deploy all sources of energy available to support the United States in that effort.
Investors and relevant businesses are creating American jobs, using American steel, building American-made inverters, and generating more energy security, not less. They are producing resilient, affordable power throughout the country and building a grid capable of supporting both our industrial economy and our national defense. We need to give them the tools to keep going, not slow them down.
We look forward to working with Congress to ensure the final bill strengthens domestic supply chains and secures American energy independence.
Signed,
- Mark Bruinooge, Chief Investment Officer, 2040 Fund
- Ryan Bennet, Managing Director, 38 Degrees North
- Tracy Gray, Founder and Managing Partner, The 22 Fund
- Brent Kessel, Co-Founder, Abacus Wealth Partners
- Alex Flamm, Head of Energy, AB CarVal
- Mike Winterfield, Founder & Managing Partner, Active Impact Investments
- Peter Davidson, Chief Executive Officer, Aligned Climate Capital
- Carolyn Farley, Partner, Arborview Capital
- Jennifer McFarlane, Partner, Asterra Partners
- Srikant Vasan, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Avesta Fund
- Zoe Welz, Partner, Avesta Fund
- Wes Selke, Founding Partner, Better Ventures
- Meir Rabkin, Managing Partner, Blue Vision Capital
- Bill DuFour, Chief Commercial Officer, Birch Creek Energy
- Gary Goldman, Managing Member, BGMG Enterprises, LLC
- Tripp Baird, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Builders Fund
- Mike Dutton, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Builders Fund
- Tom Ferguson, Managing Partner, Burnt Island Ventures
- Josh Cohen, Partner, City Light Capital
- Daniel Goldman, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Clean Energy Ventures
- Jon Powers, President, CleanCapital
- Eric Becker, Chief Investment Officer, Clean Yield Asset Management
- Ron Gonen, Chief Executive Officer, Closed Loop Partners
- Josh Felser, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Climactic
- James Rich, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, CurvePoint Capital Management
- Ira Ehrenpreis, Founder & Managing Partner, DBL Partners
- Nancy Pfund, Founder & Managing Partner, DBL Partners
- Brian Boland, Co-Founder, Delta Fund
- Tory Dietel Hopps, Managing Partner, Dietel Pickering & Partners
- Eric Berman, Investor & Board Member, E8 Angels
- Tom O’Keefe, Investor, Early Stage Investor
- Devin Whatley, Managing Partner, Ecosystem Integrity Fund
- Jigar Shah, Manager, Energy Abundance Partners
- Steph Speirs, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Eno Capital Partners
- Paul Seidler, Managing Director, Evergreen Climate Innovations
- Howard Fischer, Founder & Managing Partner, Fischer Family Office
- Monica Varman, Partner, G2 Venture Partners
- Stuart Barkoff, Co-Founder, GEF Capital Partners
- Daniel Prawda, Co-Founder, GEF Capital Partners
- Peter Shaper, Founder & Managing Partner, Genesis Park
- Paul Hobby, Managing Partner, Genesis Park
- Thomas Knowles, Managing Partner, Gratitude Railroad
- Kevin Tidwell, Managing Director, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment
- Ramsay Ravenel, President, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment
- Richard Rainaldi, Partner, Green Spark Ventures
- Andrew Bernstein, Chief Executive Officer, Kearsage Energy
- John Chaimanis, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Kendall Sustainable Infrastructure, LLC
- Shayuri Sharper, President, KSF Impact
- Isaac Vanderburg, Fund Manager, Launch Alaska Fund II
- David Rusenko, Managing Partner, Leap Forward Ventures
- Erik Lensch, Chief Executive Officer, Leyline Renewable Capital, LLC
- Mark Lewis, Managing Director, Lime Rock New Energy
- Kristian Nammack, Founder, Matinecock Capital LLC
- Luan Jenifer, President & Chief Executive Officer, Miller/Howard Investments, Inc.
- Dan Montante, President, Montante Solar
- Cody Simms, Managing Partner, MCJ
- Kristin Hull, Founder & Chief Investment Officer, Nia Impact Capital
- Rev Séamus Finn, OMI, Chief Faith Consistent Investing, Oblate International Pastoral Fund
- Andrew Beebe, Managing Director, Obvious Ventures
- Mark Bronez, Chief Executive Officer, Onswitch, Inc.
- Caroline Bressan, Chief Executive Officer, Open Road Impact
- Shomik Dutta, Managing Partner, Overture Ventures
- Brandon Hurlbut, Co-Founder, Overture Ventures
- Chris Erickson, Partner, Pangaea Ventures
- Matt Eggers, Managing Director, Prelude Ventures
- Emily Kirsch, Founder and Managing Partner, Powerhouse Ventures
- Theodore Roosevelt V, Managing Partner, Redwood Grove Capital
- Geordan Hankinson, Partner, Renewal Funds
- David Broz, Managing Partner, Second Nature Investments
- Anay Shah, Co-Founder & General Partner, Stepchange Ventures
- Ben Eidelson, Co-Founder & General Partner, Stepchange Ventures
- David Kirkpatrick, Co-Founder & Managing Director, SJF Ventures
- Timothy J. Geiger, President, Stark Tech
- Jason Scott, Partner, Spring Lane Capital
- Robert Day, Co-Founding Partner, Spring Lane Capital
- Jonathan Abe, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Sunwealth
- Tom Ferraro, Partner, Ultra Capital LLC
- Stonly Blue, Managing Partner, Third Sphere
- Emily Fritze, Partner, The Westly Group
- Paul Straub, Managing Director, Wireframe Ventures
- Kareem Dabbagh, Managing Partner, VoLo Earth Ventures
- Russell Sprole, Founder & Managing Partner, Virta Ventures