Clean energy companies are blitzing Capitol Hill to save IRA tax credits
A coalition of clean energy groups – representing over 2,000 companies and hundreds of billions in private investment – is holding more than 100 meetings today with bipartisan members of Congress to underscore the critical role of IRA clean energy tax credits.
As part of the lobbying blitz, more than 1,850 clean energy companies are also sending letters to Congress emphasizing the economic importance of clean energy tax credits and urging lawmakers to preserve these incentives. The solar industry letter can be found here, and the business leaders’ letter can be found here.
Organizations with member companies participating in the lobbying blitz include the Solar Energy Industries Association, National Hydropower Association, Oceantic Network, Climate Power, US Green Building Council, Clean Energy for America, E2, Business Council for Sustainable Energy, Impact Capital Managers, and dozens of utilities and businesses across the energy sector.
Federal energy incentives are supercharging domestic clean energy manufacturing, cutting reliance on foreign adversaries, and creating jobs for American workers. These policies are driving hundreds of billions in investments into energy projects that are keeping the grid stocked with low-cost, reliable power – just as the US sees its biggest energy demand spike since World War II.
Without federal clean energy tax credits, clean energy deployment would fall by 237 gigawatts (GW) over the next 15 years, according to Aurora Energy Research. That’s enough power to supply 36 million homes. In the last two years, 70-80% of all federal clean energy investments have been in red states, and 90% of those investments are in the manufacturing sector.
Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), said, “With support from federal clean energy policies, American solar manufacturers can now produce enough modules to meet all demand for solar in the United States. It’s critical that our elected leaders understand the impact of these policies and the jobs and investments they bring to their constituents.”
“Businesses across America right now are just breaking ground or finalizing plans for hundreds of factories and projects that will manufacture the solar panels, batteries and other Made-in-America equipment and deploy the energy we need to meet the exploding demand for electricity across the economy,” said Bob Keefe, executive director of the national nonpartisan business group E2. “Now’s not the time to undermine the federal policies driving this economic boom and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it’s creating. Now’s the time for Congress to keep the investments and opportunities flowing to the folks back home, while also making America competitive again in the global marketplace.”
“Energy tax credits are helping enable more than $25 billion in American offshore wind supply chain investments and thousands of American manufacturing and shipbuilding jobs,” said Liz Burdock, president and CEO of Oceantic Network. “We must act to secure these jobs and investments in our Gulf shipyards, Midwestern steel mills, and ports along our coastlines, advance our energy security and independence, and unleash the full portfolio of American-made energy.”
Read more: Chinese solar giant Trina sells its Texas factory a week after it opens [update]
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ACME stock soars on today’s cartoonishly silly episode of Quick Charge, we watch Tesla Autopilot crash into a wall with a painting on it, make the Elon stans look silly when they point out shady behavior from their fearless leader, and toss out the notion that some franchise dealers might help the troubled EV brand make more sales in red states.
We also cover Toyota as it moves to position itself for global battery dominance by suppling batteries to more than 400,000 electrified Honda vehicles per year, plus an upgraded Xpeng G6 electric SUV that makes everything on this side of the Pacific look positively plebeian. All this and more, enjoy!
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Tesla has already started offering 0% APR on loans for the new Model Y in China, showing a clear sign of weak demand.
We recently reported that Tesla is under increased pressure from competition in China, the world’s largest EV market.
The Tesla Model 3 was recently surpassed in sales by the Xiaomi SU7 in a record short period from starting production. The SU7 not only outsells Model 3 in China, but Xiaomi’s electric sedan has a 31-34-week-long order backlog compared to just 1-3 weeks for Tesla’s.
Last month, Tesla started offering a new RMB 8,000 ($1,100 USD) insurance subsidy and 0% loans on new Model 3 orders.
Tesla didn’t apply these same offers to new Model Y orders because Tesla enjoyed more demand for the vehicle due to the launch of the Model Y refresh, and the production launch limited the supplies.
However, we also noted that reports of more than 200,000 orders for the new Model Y were exaggerated and the current delivery timelines pointed to soft demand for the new Model Y.
We noted that a good indication of when Tesla is running out of the backlog of orders, which was opened in January, for the newly delivered vehicle would be if Tesla brings back financing incentives on the Model Y.
Today, Tesla announced that it was bringing back the 0% interest loans on the base version of the new Model Y:
The Model Y RWD is by far Tesla’s best-selling car in China and Tesla is now offering up to 3 years at 0% for a 30% down payment and some discounted rates for a smaller down payment.
The incentive starts now and up to April 30. Tesla wrote:
If you purchase a Model Y rear-wheel drive version from March 18, 2025 to April 30, 2025 and pick up the car before the order expiration date according to the delivery and payment terms in the order, eligible customers can apply for the following financial preferential plans:
Tesla currently quotes “2-4 weeks” as a delivery timeline for new orders for the new Model Y RWD, and 6-10 weeks for Long Range AWD.
The Long Range appears to enjoy a bit more demand. Tesla even slightly increased the price by RMB 10,000 yuan ($1,380).
Electrek’s Take
It’s important to consider that Tesla is believed to be selling a mix of RWD vs AWD around 3 to 1 or even 4 to 1. Therefore, any change in pricing and subsidized loans to the Short Range RWD would have a massive impact on Tesla.
I have to say, I’m surprised. I suspected Tesla would have some issues selling the new Model Y in the second half of the year after some excitement for the new version wore off and competition like the Xiaomi YU7 would arrive, but I didn’t think it would come so fast.
Even if this is because Tesla was able to ramp up production of the new version faster, which could mean more deliveries in Q1, the fact that they are already discounting them is a terrible sign of demand.
I didn’t have high hopes for Tesla’s prospects in China in 2025, but even I thought this would not come for another 3-5 months.
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The World Liberty Financial website arranged on a smartphone in New York, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial crypto project said on Monday that it raised $250 million in its second token sale, bringing the total amount of coins sold to $550 million.
WLFI, a venture backed by the first family that describes itself as a sort of crypto banking platform, launched in October, weeks before Trump’s election victory. In a document published at the time of launch, WLFI said the Trump family could take home 75% of net revenue.
In Monday’s release, WLFI said more than 85,000 participants underwent so-called know-your-customer verification to gain access to the token sale. Co-founder Zach Witkoff, son of billionaire U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, is quoted in the release as saying that “WLFI is on track to supercharge DeFi,” or decentralized finance.
In January, Tron blockchain founder Justin Sun upped his stake in WLFI tokens to $75 million. A court filing the following month showed that Sun and the SEC were exploring a resolution to the regulator’s civil fraud case against the crypto entrepreneur.
WLFI is one of several crypto projects in the Trump family that are kicking off just as the president is pushing a crypto-friendly agenda. Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
According to a memo from the White House last week, David Sacks, the Trump administration’s AI and crypto czar, sold over $200 million worth of digital asset-related investments personally and through his firm, Craft Ventures, before starting the job. Sacks said in a podcast that he “didn’t want to even have the appearance of a conflict.”
At the end of February, the SEC declared that meme tokens are not securities. The announcement came after the president and First Lady Melania Trump launched their own meme coins in the days leading up to the inauguration.
WATCH: Trump’s bitcoin reserve leaves crypto investors disappointed
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