Bracewell’s Scott Segal discussed with the Houston Chronicle the GOP’s mounting support for clean energy investment since 18 Republican House members sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) warning that repealing the clean energy tax credits created under the Inflation Reduction Act would “undermine private investments and stop development that is already ongoing.”
“For every one Republican that signed that letter there’s another two or three that generally agreed with the proposition but didn’t feel they were in a position to sign it,” said Segal. “It’s becoming clearer there is stronger Republican support for continued clean energy incentives than was first suspected.”
Republicans in Congress have become more active on climate and clean energy than previously, with a group including Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Houston) calling for a “conservative approach to climate” that includes funding for technologies such as carbon capture.
“There’s political realities at play here,” said Segal. “I don’t foresee a sea change in energy incentives. If Republicans were to try to yank the bathmat out of capital-intensive projects, that is the equivalent of raising taxes on capital projects. That doesn’t have a very Republican ring to it.”
