The U.S. Senate is still deliberating over President Trump’s "big, beautiful bill." The House passed a version that cuts clean energy tax credits, a program that North Carolina Latinos are only starting to use.
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act expanded and extended clean energy tax credits to 2032. They offer tax breaks for solar panel installations, electric vehicles and home energy retrofits.
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Mayre Reyes is a community organizer in Greensboro with Poder Latinx, a nonprofit that’s been raising awareness of the tax credits among Spanish-language speakers.
She said many more Latinos could benefit from the program, but hadn’t learned about it because there were few Spanish-language resources. One mother of three told Reyes that her high energy bill forced her to make hard choices.
“She said that if she pays the bill, she can’t afford the basic necessities, like her son’s food,” Reyes said.
But Reyes said the tax credits gave the mother — and others — hope. It also created jobs for community members, including installing solar panels and home energy retrofits.
Sen. Joni Ernst, (R-Iowa), has proposed an update that would phase out the energy credits. The change also removes an excise tax on solar projects. Sen. Thom Tillis previously expressed support for the clean energy credits in a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, signed by three other senators.
North Carolina ranks third in clean energy investments in the country, according to Atlas Public Policy’s Clean Economy Tracker. Private companies have spent billions in clean energy projects across the state, including a $13.9 billion Toyota battery manufacturing plant in Randolph County. The Solar Energy Industries Association ranked N.C. fifth in solar deployment in the country, though N.C. generates a greater share of its energy from solar compared to other sources than Texas, which ranked second.
