An in-depth look at the U.S. Senate’s proposed clean energy cuts in the so‑called “One Big Beautiful Bill”

⚡ Senate Clean Energy Rollbacks Ignite Backlash from Labor & Business

Washington, D.C. | June 30, 2025 — A major shift is underway in the Senate’s version of President Trump’s sweeping tax and spending package: clean energy tax credits—central to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—are being rolled back much sooner than planned, and a new tax is being added to wind and solar projects. What was intended as a move to reduce subsidies has instead triggered a political firestorm.

📉 What the Bill Does

• Accelerates expiry of wind and solar tax credits under the IRA by 2027–2028, years ahead of schedule reuters.com+11reuters.com+11reuters.com+11reuters.com.

• Imposes an excise tax on renewables using Chinese-made components, tightening criteria for qualifying projects marketwatch.com+3reuters.com+3washingtonpost.com+3.

• Shifts incentives toward coal, nuclear, hydropower, and geothermal, reinforcing a fossil-fuel-friendly policy tilt .

📣 Labor’s Outrage: “Job-Killer”

• North America’s Building Trades Unions, led by Sean McGarvey, blasted the bill:
  “If enacted, this stands to be the biggest job-killing bill in the history of this country… equivalent of terminating more than 1,000 Keystone XL pipeline projects” apnews.com+9reuters.com+9reuters.com+9.
  

• Numerous clean energy manufacturing sites—including solar panel and battery factories—depend heavily on these credits to sustain operations. Tens of thousands of union construction jobs could be at risk reuters.com+1reuters.com+1.

💼 Business Outcry: Higher Costs, Lower Innovation

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce criticized the excise tax on renewables, warning it would drive up electricity prices and hamper future AI and data center growth reuters.com.

• Tech leader Elon Musk called the bill “utterly insane and destructive,” saying it favors outdated industries and hinders emerging sectors like AI—in which Tesla is deeply invested nypost.com+7reuters.com+7marketwatch.com+7.

🌹 Strategic Shift: Politics Over Progress?

• Supporters argue the move ends “wasteful subsidies” and redirects focus to reliable baseload power—coal, nuclear, and hydro—aiming at energy stability reuters.com+1reuters.com+1.

• However, critics point out that 75% of IRA’s clean energy investments have gone to red states, proving bipartisan appetite for renewables. States like Georgia, North Carolina, and Utah could see significant economic downside if these projects falter reuters.com.

📊 Market Impact: Winners & Losers

• Solar and wind stocks plunged on news of the accelerated rollback, although some companies with domestic, non-Chinese supply chains (e.g., First Solar) saw modest gains marketwatch.com.

• Nuclear and hydroelectric firms benefited, with shares of NRG, Oklo, and others rising amid expectations of renewed federal support marketwatch.com.

⚖️ Political Crossfire

• Republican fractures: Senators from Utah, Alaska, and North Carolina—who leveraged clean energy incentives to attract local factories—warned the cutbacks would "sabotage" critical economic projects reuters.com.

• Democratic opposition: Senator Brian Schatz (D‑HI) stressed that the bill would elevate energy prices and eliminate roughly 500 GW of needed capacity—“a basic question of supply and demand” en.wikipedia.org+10reuters.com+10reuters.com+10.

🔮 What Comes Next

• Final vote expected by early July, ahead of a likely reconciliation vote .

• Amendment window open: Proponents of clean energy are expected to push for carving out exemptions or reinstating credits for critical technologies 

• Economic ripple effects: Beyond immediate investment losses, higher power costs could ripple into AI, data centers, EVs, residential solar—even industrial competitiveness .

The Senate's energy provisions signal a policy pivot: from the bipartisan embrace of renewables to a fossil-fuel resurgence. But the backlash from labor unions, business leaders, and even Republican governors underscores that the transition to clean energy is far from over—and may already be redrawing economic and political lines in unexpected ways.