Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
Energy lobbyists are bracing for changes to the IRA in the GOP tax bill.
Why it matters: Companies are racing to save what they like and toss out what they don't from the 2022 climate law.
Driving the news: The budget resolution, IRA tax credits and the methane fee showed up repeatedly in first-quarter energy lobbying disclosures.
- The Solar Energy Industries Association reported its biggest quarterly lobbying spend in more than a decade at $710,000. It has former Rep. Bill Shuster and a cadre of former GOP Hill staffers from Squire Patton Boggs lobbying on energy tax credits and tariff issues.
- Shell USA reported lobbying on the IRA's investment and production credits, while the American Petroleum Institute was engaging lawmakers on incentives for hydrogen, carbon capture and clean fuel production.
- Constellation similarly reported lobbying on the IRA and "preservation of nuclear tax credits."
Zoom in: One area of focus for oil and gas is the IRA's 15% corporate alternative minimum tax, which affects the industry and has limited companies' ability to deduct drilling costs.
- API reported lobbying on Sen. John Barrasso's bill that would repeal the tax, something that the group has endorsed.
- Big Oil also reported lobbying on the Congressional Review Act resolution to repeal the methane fee.
- ConocoPhillips said it was talking about "inclusion of full repeal" of the fee in reconciliation.
Yes, but: Disclosure forms are often vague, and organizations don't usually say what stance they're taking on a particular issue behind closed doors.
Between the lines: The new administration means a continuing flurry of new registrations, with companies seeking out lobbyists with close ties to the Hill and Trumpworld.
- The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association both recently tapped former Hill aides with Capitol Tax Partners.
- Former top Trump aide Rick Dearborn and others registered to lobby on the IRA — including the nuclear power production credit — for Duke Energy.
- Duke also commissioned two former GOP tax staffers to work on "issues regarding nuclear production tax credit, technology-neutral tax credits, transferability of energy tax credits, and the electric utility-specific provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act."
Some notable spends from the first quarter:
- American Petroleum Institute: $1.9 million in Q1, compared with $1.3 million in Q4 2024.
- American Chemistry Council: $4.2 million, down from $6.5 million in Q4.
- American Clean Power Association: $510,000 in Q1, compared with $520,000 in Q4.
- Nuclear Energy Institute: $450,000 in Q1, up from $340,000 in Q4.
- Edison Electric Institute: $3.1 million in Q1, doubling its $1.5 million in Q4.
- ExxonMobil: $2.8 million in Q1, compared with $1.5 million Q4.
- Shell USA: $1.4 million in Q1, compared with $1.6 million in Q4.
- Chevron: $1.9 million in Q1, down from $2.5 million in Q4.
- ConocoPhillips: $3.2 million in Q1, down from $3.8 million in Q4.
- Orsted North America: $300,000 in Q1, up from $240,000 in Q4.
- Southern Company: $3 million in Q1, matching its $3 million in Q4.
- NextEra Energy: $2.1 million in Q1, compared with $2 million in Q4.
- Duke Energy: $2.8 million, up from $1.7 million in Q4.
- Constellation: $1.6 million in Q1, compared with $1.1 million in Q4.
