Lobbyists target possible GOP plans on key IRA feature
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Republicans' possible targeting of a key IRA feature has led to a fierce lobbying campaign from energy developers.
Why it matters: Tax credit transferability — an IRA feature enabling mineral supply chain, nuclear, biofuels and other sectors to monetize the credits — created a wider avenue for developers to raise billions of dollars.
- Republicans could see narrowing the ability to access the credits as a way to tap a large pot of money to pay for an extension of President Trump's tax cuts.
Driving the news: Eliminating transferability "is an option that is under discussion," John Miller, managing director at TD Cowen, told Axios.
- His read is that Republicans "aren't ideologically opposed to transferability, but if it bought them, say, $100B in 'offsets,' then it is worth exploring."
- The 21 House Republicans who signed a letter this month urging protection of the IRA credits called out transferability.
- They argued that projects would be jeopardized by "premature credit phaseouts or additional restrictive mechanisms such as limiting transferability."
Zoom in: The IRA opened up the tax equity markets — which have been accessible primarily to the largest wind and solar developers — to emerging technologies.
- Crux Climate, which helps tax credit transfers, estimated $30 billion in tax credit transactions occurred in 2024.
- About 70% of 45X manufacturing tax credits generated last year were sold on the transfer market, Crux found.
- The firm added two teams of former Hill staffers this year to lobby on tax issues.
Many technologies spurred by the IRA "are now exclusively relying on transferability," said Lesley Hunter, ACORE's senior vice president of policy and engagement.
- "If that were to go away for any reason, those technologies would really be hindered from expanding," Hunter said.
Zoom out: The defense of transferability mirrors the broader advocacy to retain the credit amid rising energy demand.
- Tax credit uncertainty — including transferability threats — is sidelining up to $5 billion of biogas capital, said Heather Dziedzic, vice president of policy for the American Biogas Council, which hosted a fly-in on the Hill this month.
- Dziedzic said her group heard from congressional offices that "the risk is increasing, not decreasing" around the tech-neutral clean electricity production and investment tax credits in particular.
The big picture: The GOP strategy for tackling the IRA credits is still very much in flux.
- "There are all kinds of discussions," Rep. Buddy Carter — one of the 21 Republicans who signed the letter — told Axios when asked about changing transferability or possible caps to the credits. "I like to describe it as throwing mud against the wall to see what sticks, and that's what we're doing right now."
- "It's not a red line for me," he said. "However, it is for some of the others who signed that letter."
The bottom line: Sen. Kevin Cramer said he's still hoping to take a scalpel rather than a chainsaw to the IRA : "I hope we can hang on to things that I like and get rid of things I don't."
