Green Daily

This morning the US Congress voted to bring an earlier end to the tax credits created under former President Joe Biden’s signature climate law. As analysts have noted, the details are even worse than what was anticipated for clean energy. Read more below and find updates and analysis throughout the day on Bloomberg.com.

Also, read about how President Donald Trump’s funding threats for a California “bullet train” are building the case for private high-speed rail. For unlimited access to climate and energy news, please subscribe.

‘Worse than feared’

By Ari Natter and Brian Eckhouse

Subsidies for clean power would end years earlier in a giant tax and spending bill narrowly passed by the Republican-led House of Representatives early Thursday, driving down shares of solar companies including Sunrun Inc.

It now moves to the Senate, where key Republicans have already balked at some of the House’s plans. Some wanted longer transition times before the latest House bill cut those even further.

The House bill is “worse than feared” for clean energy, analysts at Jeffries said in a research note Thursday. They added, however, that “we don’t expect this to last into Senate draft.”

Shares of Sunrun fell 44% in early trading Thursday. SolarEdge Technologies Inc. sank 17%.

Contractors handle a Sunrun solar panel. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

The revised text released Wednesday night marked an extended effort to win over Republican dissidents, including fiscal hardliners who wanted deeper cuts to a series of tax credits created under former President Joe Biden’s signature climate law.

The revisions would include ending technology-neutral clean electricity tax credits for sources like wind and solar starting in 2029 and requiring those projects to commence construction within 60 days of the legislation becoming law. The initial version proposed by House Republicans had a longer phase-out time, allowing many of the credits to exist until 2032.

“They would probably amount to a hard shutdown of the IRA,” said James Lucier, managing director at research group Capital Alpha Partners, referring to Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. “The initial version of the Ways and Means bill gave investors some hope they could live under the old regime for another couple of years, but now no more.”

The House bill would also hasten more stringent restrictions that would disqualify any project deemed to benefit China from receiving credits. Under the new version, those restrictions, which some analysts have said could render the credits useless for many projects, would kick in next year.

At the same time, the revised bill would restore “transferability” of a nuclear production tax credit, which would allow a project sponsor to sell tax credits to a third party, according to a summary of the changes. It also lengthens the among of time the credit remains in place by allowing projects that have started construction but aren’t yet operating to be eligible to receive them, the summary said.

The new bill also would keep the tax credits for advanced nuclear projects and expanding existing plants if construction starts by the end of 2028. It also would phase out a consumer tax incentive of as much as $7,500 for the purchase of electric vehicles.

The changes would come on top of limitations on the energy credits that were estimated to save $560 billion in cuts in Inflation Reduction Act spending and could cripple the clean energy industry.

The legislation is the centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s second term agenda. However it faces a delicate path to become law, and may still be altered further.

Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski and three colleagues have vowed to defend the credits and called for a “targeted, pragmatic approach.”

“I am watching right now to see how far the House goes,” Murkowski said in an interview on Tuesday.

Read the latest updates on Bloomberg.com.

Vanishing opportunity

$160 billion

This is how much the US's gross domestic product could decrease in 2030 if the Inflation Reduction Act is fully repealed, according to think tank Energy Innovation Policy & Technology.

Costlier transition

"It's worth remembering that US power demand is now growing and renewables represent the cheapest, fastest way to add generation to the grid. So while some number of clean energy projects would get canceled as a result of this move, others would re-negotiate contracts with utilities or corporate offtakers. The result would inevitably be higher priced power in substantial parts of the US."

Ethan Zindler

Country and policy research leader at BloombergNEF

Zindler explained the consequences of the House bill if the clean energy portion passes the Senate unchanged.

Worth a listen

With the US government slashing climate incentives and programs, companies working on global warming solutions are being forced to cut costs. This week Akshat Rathi speaks with Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder of Climeworks, a startup that pulls carbon dioxide from the air, about its first major layoffs and what the future holds for the most expensive climate solution. Listen now, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube to get new episodes of Zero every Thursday.

Jan Wurzbacher Photographer: Heida Helgadottir/Bloomberg

California’s long train delay

By Brian Kahn and Eliyahu Kamisher

California has helped create much of the technology powering the 21st century. But travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco by train still feels trapped in the past.

Now, the state’s plan to modernize that corridor — a long-promised high-speed rail line — is facing its most serious threat yet. President Donald Trump has called the project “stupid” and vowed to block $4 billion in federal funds, escalating a broader push by his administration to withdraw support from mass transit initiatives across the country. “This government is not going to pay," he said earlier this month.

The threat lands at a critical moment. After years and years of delays and cost overruns, California’s high-speed rail project is approaching a point where additional funding is essential to keep construction moving. Without federal support, state officials warn that progress on the first segment from Bakersfield to Merced could stall — or stop entirely — potentially being the final nail in the coffin for the entire project.

Construction on a high-speed rail project in Kings County, California, in late March. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Not all rail projects are facing the same level of scrutiny, though. The privately led Brightline West line from Las Vegas to the Los Angeles area has been singled out for praise by the administration and its federal grants are still in place. The project has also faced delays — though nowhere on the level of the state-run project — and Brightline’s Florida line has so far failed to turn a profit. But while many expected Trump to cut funding for rail, it looks instead like his administration is putting weight behind a private model of high speed trains.

Read today’s story on how Trump’s funding threats are helping build a case for privately led high-speed rail.

More from Green

US clean-tech startup Circ plans to build what it says is the world’s first large-scale plant that can break down the textiles heavily used in fast fashion. Fabrics made of a blend of polyester and cotton are difficult to recycle and worsening a global waste crisis

The 450 million euro ($510 million) plant will be in Saint-Avold, France, and construction is set to begin in 2026. The facility will have the capacity to process 70,000 metric tons of polycotton material per year, according to the company. It is expected to be fully operational by 2028 and create 200 direct and indirect jobs.

Danville, Virginia-based Circ surveyed dozens of sites, including in North America and Asia, before deciding on France, amid a US pullback from clean-tech funding under the Trump administration.

“We see within the EU an incredible appetite for green-industry solutions and an ecosystem in the finance world that’s very supportive of industrial solutions like this that can scale,” said Conor Hartman, Circ’s chief operating officer.

Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg

Electric vehicle drivers may soon see public charging prices swing dramatically higher or lower as fast-charging networks roll out dynamic pricing. Companies will adjust prices based on factors like weather, events, and electricity rates.

Neom is struggling to find buyers. The world's largest green hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia is facing an uncertain future due to trouble finding international buyers for the fuel.

The world’s largest producer of EV batteries is rewarding suppliers that cut emissions as it attempts to rein in its climate footprint. Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is aiming to be carbon neutral across its core operations this year.

Attention all filmmakers

Do you have a compelling story you want to tell? The Bloomberg Green Docs competition is open to all eligible filmmakers who would like to compete to win a $25,000 grand prize for a short climate documentary. The aim is to explore our climate future with documentaries that reveal the world we are making today. Films must be under 10 minutes and submissions will be accepted through May 23. The winner will be announced at the Bloomberg Green Docs Film Festival in Seattle on July 16. Visit the Bloomberg Green Docs official site for more information and rules.