Fossil fuel advocate shapes Republican push to cut renewable energy funding

A fossil fuel promoter who advises GOP lawmakers is pushing Congress to gut renewable tax credits, influencing the Republican megabill backed by the Trump administration.

Robin Bravender and Timothy Cama report for E&E News.

In short:

• Alex Epstein, founder of a fossil fuel advocacy group, played a behind-the-scenes role in Republican negotiations over a sweeping budget package by urging lawmakers to eliminate renewable energy tax credits sooner than originally planned.
• His influence helped shift House legislation to cut off clean energy tax breaks 60 days after enactment, instead of allowing them to continue through 2031 under the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Epstein is now working to convince Senate Republicans to go further by ending all subsidies for wind and solar projects, arguing that these incentives undermine the electric grid.

Key quote:

“What I was arguing for very strongly is at minimum, you have to get rid of the new subsidies, and you absolutely have to have them all expire and stop under Trump’s term.”

— Alex Epstein, founder of the Center for Industrial Progress

Why this matters:

The future of U.S. clean energy development is being redrawn as political forces push to unwind landmark climate investments. Subsidies for wind and solar have driven historic growth in renewable energy, often benefiting conservative rural districts with new jobs and infrastructure. Rolling back those incentives risks stalling or reversing this momentum just as the grid faces escalating demands from extreme weather and electrification. Advocates warn that yanking support for renewables means increasing dependency on volatile fossil fuel markets and delaying the transition to cleaner, more stable energy systems. Meanwhile, fossil fuel proponents argue the grid can't reliably run on intermittent sources and that market forces should dictate energy choices. With Congress debating the terms of energy support, these policy shifts could reshape emissions, energy access, and investment for decades.

Learn more: Clean energy rollback plan could threaten U.S. power reliability, industry warns