Governor Stein Urges Senate Leaders to Support NC Economy By Protecting IRA Tax Credits

NORTH CAROLINA, June 11 - Today Governor Stein urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Finance Committe Chair Mike Crapo, and North Carolina Senators Ted Budd and Thom Tillis to reconsider the U.S. House of Representative’s efforts to end the energy and manufacturing tax credits that the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 created. These tax credits have helped North Carolina emerge as a top state for clean energy business investment.

“Our state’s clean energy economy is booming, and companies’ decisions to locate their clean energy advanced manufacturing facilities in North Carolina have brought jobs and opportunities to our state,” said Governor Josh Stein. “H.R. 1’s abrupt changes to these credits would jeopardize much of this investment, stifle the demand that many companies were counting on, and conflict with the goals of reshoring manufacturing that the Trump Administration has championed. H.R. 1 would weaken our economy, raise utility prices on consumers, and undermine our national security.”

Since the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 passed, more than $24 billion in clean energy technology investments have been announced across North Carolina. These announcements include batteries for storage and vehicle applications, solar panels, cells, and wafers, electric vehicle charging stations, transformers, critical minerals, and a wide variety of grid-enhancing products. These businesses already or will soon employ tens of thousands of people, in addition to the more than 100,000 people already employed in North Carolina’s clean energy sector. The U.S. House budget resolution’s repeal of these tax credits would threaten jobs in North Carolina and put billions of dollars in investments at risk. 

Moreover, H.R. 1 could cause a significant cost in electricity prices for North Carolinians – a more than 13 percent increase for households and a more than 20 percent increase for businesses. In total, if these tax credits were repealed, an average North Carolina family could expect to pay $200 more per year to power their homes. 

Read Governor Stein’s letter calling for the US Senate to protect IRA tax credits here.