Advocates warn proposed bill to end solar tax credits would leave Louisiana vulnerable
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) — The U.S. Senate is debating the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” and green energy advocates warn it would leave Louisiana more vulnerable to power outages.
The bill would accelerate the end of tax credits for several green energy initiatives, including solar panel installation. A 30 percent credit for residential installation would end at the end of the year.
First Grace United Methodist Church Pastor Shawn Anglim said his church leveraged the tax break to become a community lighthouse.
“I think people should ask do we they want more Memorial Day incidents, that’s a reality now. It’s not August, it was May. Do we want more of those? Or is there a different way to do things,” he said.
Anglim referenced a mass outage that took place on May 25.
Grid operators have since told the New Orleans City Council that several factors led to more than 100,000 Entergy customers going without power.
One of those factors was a lack of accessible energy.
Anglim said the lighthouse was not opened during the outages due to their short duration, but it did open in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine.
“The city called us, can we distribute oxygen tanks out of your church because we have power. Can we set up our food truck at your church, because we have power?” he said.
New Orleans Deputy Chief Resilience Officer Greg Nichols said his team will meet with Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy about the bill.
“These tax credits really have made it financially feasible to really have a boom in clean energy in the country and New Orleans is really poised to capture on that, but it would be a real setback if this bill passes,” he said.
Fox 8 reached out to Cassidy and Sen. John Kennedy’s offices for comment. Neither responded.
Cassidy tweeted out a video about speaking with President Donald Trump about the bill.
He said in part:
“Really good, talked about a lot of topics, but specifically about the Big Beautiful Bill and how do we promote growth in our country, how do we make lives better for the average American, and how do we address the deficit. A lot of discussion about how to address the debt and deficit. Very positive meeting, I look forward to getting a lot accomplished.”
House Speaker and Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson spoke in support of the bill earlier this week.
“This is geared for middle and lower-income Americans. It is going to give dramatic tax relief, historic tax relief. It is going to make sure that we get America energy dominant again,” he said.
If the Senate passes the bill with amendments, it will be returned to the House of Representatives.
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