Utility Dive Quotes Tim McMahan on Possible Effects of Trump Presidency on Prospects for Renewable Energy
“Manufacturing facilities that have been stimulated by the PTC in particular are very significant. I tend to be fairly optimistic that [the tax credits] are not going to be disrupted.”
The article discusses what actions the new administration, which thus far has been vague in its policy proposals, may take to reverse actions taken by the Obama administration to address climate change and the country’s energy future. The article cites a number of energy lawyers and consultants who say going back on the last decade of clean energy growth and decarbonization will be “easier said than done.”
Areas relevant to the energy sector addressed in the article include:
- Fate of the Clean Power Plan (“relatively easy to undo,” according to one commentator)
- Renewable energy (little trouble in pulling out of Paris Climate Accord; more obstacles to reversing tax breaks available for wind and solar projects)
- Possible relaxation on regulation of natural gas and coal means less economic advantage for wind and solar, renewed fears among scientists as to effects on climate.
Congressional Republicans are unlikely to try to repeal tax incentives, in part due to the existence of renewable energy facilities and manufacturing in many of the states they represent. “It's a bipartisan issue and it's an investment that really helps prop up rural communities and provide a significant amount of revenue for operators,” said McMahan.
Read “How President Trump could upend Obama's climate and energy legacy,” published by Utility Dive November 10, 2016.
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