Over the last three years, few states have drawn more clean energy and electric vehicle manufacturing investment than Georgia.
The corporate spending spree has been juiced by federal incentives, created under former President Joe Biden, that offer tax credits to build solar panels, batteries and EVs in North America — and savings for consumers and businesses that buy them.
Now, Republicans in Congress appear set to tear down much of that scaffolding to pay for other corporate and individual tax breaks sought by President Donald Trump. And Georgia’s clean energy sector is sounding the alarm, warning the changes could cost jobs, worsen climate change and even increase the cost of electricity.
“The bill coming out of the Senate is a direct attack on these projects and on the communities in Georgia that enthusiastically welcome the jobs they create,” said Suvi Sharma, the CEO of Solarcycle, which is developing a solar panel recycling facility set to employ 600 workers in Cedartown, 20 miles south of Rome. Solarcycle has paused plans to double its workforce with a “Phase 2” expansion in the area because of uncertainty about the federal incentives.
The legislation, dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” cleared the House of Representatives in late May. Over the weekend, Senate Republicans advanced their version to the full chamber with a 51-49 vote. Two Republicans, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, joined Democrats in voting against the bill.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
The procedural step gives the bill a shot at clearing both chambers ahead of Trump’s July 4 deadline, but more changes are possible — and its passage is not guaranteed in the narrowly divided Congress.
The bill would fulfill Trump’s campaign promise to extend corporate and individual tax cuts created in his first term. To help pay for those, the legislation would eliminate most federal incentives for EVs and clean energy years earlier than expected. Trump has repeatedly decried the subsidies as a “scam.”
Still, the bill could add as much $3.9 trillion to the national debt, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. And even some Trump allies don’t agree with clawing back support for clean energy, which many businesses in Georgia and beyond have staked their investments on.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX who was a top Trump adviser for the first months of his presidency before a recent dustup, called the bill “utterly insane and destructive” in a post Friday on X.
“It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future,” Musk added.
The 940-page Senate bill would:
- Revoke incentives for solar facilities that start producing electricity after 2027, years earlier than planned.
- Eliminate the $7,500 federal consumer tax credit for the purchase of certain qualifying EVs at the end of September.
- Sunset the 30% federal tax credit offered for residential clean energy installations, such as rooftop solar, by the end of this year. That tax break was set to be offered through 2032.
- Phase out subsidies for domestic manufacturing of solar, battery, wind and other clean energy components.
- Impose a new tax on solar projects that begin generating electricity after 2027.
Since the federal incentives were created, Georgia has grown into a major EV manufacturing hub.
Hyundai Motor Group last year began manufacturing at its colossal, $7.6 billion Metaplant near Savannah last year. Backed by a federal loan, Rivian is planning to build a $5 billion EV factory of its own 50 miles east of Atlanta. A constellation of battery factories, headlined by SK Battery America’s Commerce facility, plus other EV component manufacturers have sprung up like kudzu across the state.
Many of the products they plan to make in the Peach State would have been eligible for the federal tax credits.
In a statement, Hyundai Motor Group touted its investments across the country and said it believes electric vehicles represent “a significant long-term opportunity,” but noted it continues to offer gas-powered vehicles and hybrids “so that U.S. consumers can choose the vehicle that best fits their needs.”
Rivian did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Senate’s draft.
The Zero Emission Transportation Association, which counts Rivian and Tesla among its members, said the bill would cede ground to China, which already dominates much of the EV and clean energy supply chain.
“To vote for this bill as written is to effectively abandon the goal we all share of making the United States globally competitive in the mineral, battery, and vehicle production markets of the future,” ZETA’s executive director Albert Gore said in a statement.
Cox Enterprises, the parent company of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, owns about a 3% stake in Rivian.
The Senate bill could prove most devastating for solar.
The cost of solar has fallen dramatically in recent decades, making it one of the most economic sources of electricity available. Solar produces electricity without contributing to warming the planet. And, as recently as February, the federal Energy Information Administration projected solar would be the leading source of new power added to the grid this year nationwide.
But even before the latest changes emerged, Georgia’s solar developers and installers were struggling with the whiplash of tariffs and economic uncertainty. Now, some in the industry say more pain could be on the horizon.
Brion Fitzpatrick, president of the Georgia Solar Energy Industries Association, warned that “Georgia will lose thousands of solar jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in clean energy investment,” if the bill isn’t altered.
Scott Moskowitz, vice president of industry affairs for solar giant Qcells, which operates factories in Dalton and Cartersville, noted the company has invested billions and hired thousands of workers to “onshore the solar supply chain.”
“It’s critical that Congress support domestic manufacturers in our efforts to compete with China,” he said.
A note of disclosure
This coverage is supported by a partnership with Green South Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. You can learn more and support our climate reporting by donating at ajc.com/donate/climate.
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