Yellen warns that eliminating US clean energy tax credits would raise costs for consumers, by Reuters

By David Lawder

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Thursday that any attempt to roll back the Biden administration’s clean energy tax credits would raise costs for families and jeopardize new investment in American manufacturing that creates jobs.

Yellen told an audience at Wake Tech Community College in North Carolina that families across the country have claimed $8.4 billion in energy tax credits that would help lower their energy bills over the long term.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has pledged to roll back many of President Joe Biden’s clean energy rules for power plants and electric vehicles. Trump also said he would end hundreds of billions of dollars in tax subsidies passed in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), saying he would stop the “new green scam” and redirect the funds to building roads and bridges.

Without mentioning Trump, Yellen said eliminating the IRA’s clean energy tax credits “would be a historic mistake.”

“Cutting them could increase costs for working families at a time when it is imperative that we continue to take action to lower prices,” Yellen said in excerpted remarks.

“It could jeopardize the significant investment in manufacturing that we see here and across the country, along with the jobs that come with it, many of which don’t require a college degree.”

She also said a withdrawal could “kick in the face of China,” which is investing heavily in clean energy industries. The Biden administration is expected to soon announce its final plans to implement significantly increased tariffs on electric vehicles, batteries, solar cells and other Chinese goods to protect the development of a domestic clean energy supply chain.

Recent polls ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election show Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has gained ground and is now nearly tied with Trump in North Carolina, giving Democrats a chance to flip a state Trump won in 2020. 2020. his defeat against Biden.

Yellen’s remarks highlighted the savings for consumers from IRA tax credits, in line with Harris’ economic proposals aimed at stemming the rising cost of living for Americans, which Harris also unveiled in Raleigh. Yellen’s previous comments have emphasized the economic growth and job creation benefits of such investments.

Yellen said a historic U.S. recovery was still underway, with U.S. second-quarter growth of 3 percent, falling inflation and unemployment still near historic lows.

“But our administration knows that prices for key household expenses like health care, housing and energy are still too high. Reducing the costs of these essentials is our administration’s top economic priority,” she said.

Yellen said Treasury data shows 90,000 North Carolina families have applied for more than $100 million in residential clean energy tax credits for installations such as solar panels and energy storage batteries, with an average application of $5,000 . North Carolina households claimed $60 million in energy efficiency tax credits for heat pumps, efficient air conditioning and insulation for an average of $880.

At Wake Tech’s campus, which trains workers for the electric vehicle and efficient building technology industry, Yellen drove around in a Mustang Mach E, an electric vehicle that no longer qualifies for a $7,500 IRA tax credit in because of its Chinese content. battery.