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Stephen Moore
@StephenMoore
Americans now pay more in taxes than they spend on food, clothing, and shelter combined.
Think about that.
Government has become so big and bloated that taxes cost more than life’s basic necessities. Every American taxpayer should be outraged.
https://x.com/StephenMoore/status/2085112047981752748
Renewable Loophole in the One Big Beautiful Bill
Excerpt:
Key Takeaways
1
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act repealed lucrative tax credits for wind and solar, but a loophole allowed the tax credit for battery storage to continue until 2036.
2
New solar capacity is being built with battery storage to capitalize on its tax credit.
3
A recent study of the costs of a renewables system backed by storage batteries for the PJM grid shows buildout costs of more than $4 trillion through 2045, with capacity increases of 800%.
4
Other scenarios limited to new natural gas and nuclear capacity, with and without battery storage, through 2045 saw costs drop significantly and capacity builds of 48 to 62%.
5
A number of states have net-zero carbon policies and battery storage procurement mandates.
6
If policies continue to incentivize intermittent renewable energy backed by expensive battery systems, electricity costs for consumers will likely skyrocket.
7
Europe is already reeling from similar programs that threaten to deindustrialize the continent.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025 phased out hefty solar and wind tax credits created under former President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in 2022. But instead of phasing out battery storage tax credits along with the wind and solar tax credits, the OBBBA phases them out much later — in 2036—which solar developers are now capitalizing on by adding battery storage components to new builds, allowing them to keep earning lucrative clean energy tax credits despite the phaseout. Warren Buffett pointed out more than a decade ago: “For example, on wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of wind farms. That’s the only reason to build them. They don’t make sense without the tax credit.”
Under the OBBBA, solar and wind projects that have not started construction no longer qualify for the IRA tax credits. Because of lucrative tax credits, wind and solar projects have made up a majority of the energy sector’s growth since 2019. According to the Energy Information Administration, new solar and wind capacity through June 30, just before the end of their phase-out, exceeded the total added to date in 2025 and will likely outpace prior years. This result is similar to what happened when the OBBBA ended the tax credit for electric vehicles last year, with sales of electric vehicles rising sharply just before the tax credit expired on September 30.
Because of tax credits for battery storage and battery procurement mandates in 13 states, battery storage facilities are being built despite their high costs and land requirements. Batteries do not generate electricity; they store excess electricity that may be available on the grid for later release when generators are no longer producing, such as when the wind is not blowing or the sun is not shining. Thus, they are an extra expense that ratepayers and taxpayers must pay because federal and state governments are incentivizing them.