By Valerie Volcovici and Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump has promised to gut U.S. President Joe Biden's climate subsidies if elected. But many of Trump's allies are benefiting from them thanks to big investments in solar power, electric vehicles, carbon sequestration, hydrogen and other clean energy technologies.
Reuters found at least seven of Trump's close allies and fundraisers, or the firms they run, hold hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of stakes in companies that are significant beneficiaries of the tax breaks embedded in the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden's signature climate law.
They include Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner; his former ambassador to China and continued ally Terry Branstad; and companies run by informal energy advisor and oil mogul Harold Hamm and powerful booster Howard Lutnick.
Big oil companies like Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) and Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) , whose CEOs hosted a May fundraiser in Houston for Trump's campaign with Hamm, also hold major investments in projects that may only be viable if Biden's clean energy tax credits survive.
And Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), whose founder and CEO Elon Musk has been boosting Trump's campaign, is also benefiting massively from the IRA’s EV and solar credits.
Together, these people and companies hold billions of dollars in investments that qualify for the IRA’s lucrative tax credits and stand to lose big if Trump is able to follow through on his promise to gut Biden’s climate law, according to Reuters reporting.
The investments are important because they raise the likelihood some of Trump's allies may ask him to preserve aspects of Biden’s climate law if he wins the November election against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. That would add influential voices to some of the trade groups and lawmakers that have already stood up in favor of specific IRA subsidies.
None of the people or companies identified by Reuters were willing to comment for this story on whether they would intervene to preserve parts of the IRA.
For the time being, Trump’s intentions are clear.
"My plan will terminate the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam, and rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act,” Trump said when he unveiled elements of his economic policy platform in a speech in September.
Trump Campaign Senior Advisor Brian Hughes told Reuters a broad rollback of the IRA remains a top priority if he wins the Nov. 5 election, arguing the package has contributed to inflation and expanded the deficit.
Rescinding any part of the IRA would require an act of Congress.
A group of 18 Republican lawmakers representing districts that have drawn IRA-linked investments sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson in August urging him against revoking all of the IRA if the party wins control of the House and Senate.
The White House said the IRA created more than 330,000 jobs and that gutting it would harm investments made in Republican states.
"By some estimates, more of this investment is occurring in red and purple states,” White House spokesperson Angelo Hernandez said.
The Biden administration has already worked to give out the vast majority of IRA grants, but the law’s tax credits are set to continue for years.
Other investors and companies involved in clean energy projects are hopeful that Trump's campaign rhetoric gives way to practicality, should he win in November.
"Innovators and energy companies we work with want policy predictability. They are making hundreds of millions in investments because of the IRA,” said Jeremy Harrell, CEO of Washington-based conservative clean energy organization ClearPath.
Frank Wolak, president of the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association, said it will be essential for Congress to protect the tax credits if Trump wins the election.
"We're going to just do some hard educating on the IRA to our congressional allies," he said.
ALLIES WITH IRA BENEFITS
- MOSAIC
Trump's son-in-law and former presidential adviser Kushner's private equity fund Affinity Partners in 2022 invested $200 million in Mosaic, a California-based provider of financing for solar energy and home efficiency improvements, according to investment data provider PitchBook.
Founded in 2011 as a crowdfunding startup, the company got a boost from the IRA’s 30% tax credit for residential solar, as well as its consumer incentives for solar panels, electric heat pumps and other efficiencies by raising consumer interest for its clean energy loans.
- SUMMIT CARBON SOLUTIONS
Oil magnate Harold Hamm has long been an energy adviser and political financier for Republican politicians, including Trump, and in May hosted a Houston fundraiser for Trump’s third presidential campaign.
His company Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) in 2022 made a $250 million strategic investment into Summit Carbon Solutions, a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project that will capture CO2 from ethanol plants and other industrial sources in the Midwest.
That project relies on the 45Q tax credit for various forms of CCS, which the IRA increased sharply across the board.
Though the project was proposed before the IRA was signed in 2022, the enhanced tax credits could yield a $2.9 billion windfall for Summit’s investors, according to Jake Schwitzer, director of policy group North Star Policy Action.
Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who served as Trump’s ambassador to China and remains a staunch ally, is Summit’s chief policy advisor.
- TESLA
Tesla is a massive beneficiary of IRA tax credits. The electric vehicle and solar company called the package a “significant boost towards accelerating our mission” shortly after it passed into law in 2022, despite CEO Musk's public hostility toward subsidies.
- OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM
In addition to co-hosting the Texas fundraiser for Trump in May, Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub attended a separate fundraiser comprised of energy executives at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in April. These events raked in tens of millions for Trump's campaign.
Occidental is a beneficiary of the 45Q carbon capture tax credit and is a recipient of an Energy Department grant of nearly $1 billion to build a direct air capture (DAC) hub to demonstrate that nascent technology at scale. The company has touted its strategy to market so-called "net-zero" barrels of oil.
In May, Hollub said in a statement to Reuters: "I have been talking to policymakers on both sides of the aisle, and will continue to talk to them, to express our support for 45Q, because it will help develop technologies like direct air capture which remove carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere and protect America’s energy security."
- ENERGY TRANSFER
Energy Transfer's CEO Kelcy Warren is a long-time supporter of Trump. The pipeline operator also participates in projects supported by IRA tax credits, including two planned Louisiana CCS hubs, and a hydrogen hub in Texas that recently won just over $1 billion in Energy Department funding.
- CANTOR FITZGERALD
Trump's transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick is the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, a major financial services firm that has made significant investments in companies that benefit from the IRA.
As transition co-chair, Lutnick is playing a key role in the search for high-level appointees to staff a potential Trump administration, and he has also served as a high-dollar fundraiser for Trump.
Among the companies that Cantor Fitzgerald has invested in that have benefited significantly from the IRA are Invenergy, a renewable energy firm that is the top constituent of the Cantor Fitzgerald Infrastructure Fund.
The infrastructure fund has over $150 million in total net assets, according to a July press release, and its investment in Invenergy consists of 14.65% of that fund's total investments.
The fund is also heavily invested in NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE), the largest U.S. renewable energy developer.
Both companies have praised the IRA as helpful to their businesses.
Cantor Fitzgerald has over $13 billion in assets under management and provides a wide array of financial services.
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