Could Inflation Reduction Act push Louisiana to forefront of clean energy sector?

Louisiana is one of the better-positioned states to take advantage of clean energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that won final approval Friday in Congress, some policy experts say.

With $485 billion in new spending offset by $790 billion in revenue and savings, the legislation includes the nation’s largest-ever investment in clean and renewable energy and significant reductions in health-care costs for people covered under the Affordable Care Act and Medicare.

The bill won passage in the House Friday; President Joe Biden has backed the bill and is expected to sign it into law.

With more fossil fuel and petrochemical facilities than most other states, Louisiana could be at the forefront of significant transformations in energy production and industrial manufacturing the bill would usher in.

“Texas and Louisiana will be some of the better positioned states,” said David Dismukes, professor of environmental sciences at LSU. “Everybody’s kind of got their hand in the pie on this, from chemical manufacturers, pipeline companies to permitting companies and lawyers.”

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Among a long list of energy-related provisions, the bill most notably extends and expands the investment tax credit and production tax credit on clean energy projects. They include solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, nuclear, hydrogen produced by renewables, stand-alone energy storage such as utility-scale lithium batteries and other forms of emission-free electricity generation.

It creates a manufacturing tax credit for equipment such as solar panels, wind turbines, battery cells and other components produced in the U.S., extends the carbon capture tax credit to 203 and lowers the requirements to allow more facilities to qualify. The bill expands offshore oil and gas leasing while imposing certain fees for the release of excess emissions.

Who will benefit?

Industrial facilities outside the energy sector, such as chemical and cement manufacturers, can earn tax credits if they use clean energy technologies in their manufacturing processes.

Dismukes said the wide swath of proposed tax credits will be appealing to Louisiana’s industrial companies and others that support and do business with them.

“There’s a lot of different layers in the industry that can benefit from this,” Dismukes said. “From carbon capture all the way down to storage, we’re just in a better position to do that compared to other places around the country.”

Those tax credits will remain in effect until 2032 or once annual greenhouse gas emissions from the production of electricity in the United States is equal to or less than 25% of current emissions — whichever is later. Companies can receive higher rates on the tax credits if they meet certain wage and apprenticeship requirements, if they use materials produced in the U.S. or by siting projects in low-income areas referred to as “energy communities.”

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Rep. Troy Carter Sr., D-New Orleans, said the “energy communities” provision of the bill could benefit Black households, which spend more of their income on energy and experience a median energy burden 64% greater than white households.

“So this is also an environmental justice concern,” Carter said in an email. “This bill is the most aggressive action in history to combat the existential crisis of climate change, which is threatening Louisiana’s coast, people, culture and infrastructure. The health of many Louisiana communities are threatened by the dangerous pollution and toxins from domestic fossil-fuel production.”

What the Louisiana oil industry thinks

Carter said the tax credits could push Louisiana’s burgeoning wind power industry “over the top,” an opinion shared by Southern Renewable Energy Association Director Simon Mahan.

“The IRA will turbocharge the renewable energy industries in Louisiana,” Mahan said. “Renewables are inflation busters because the fuel is free, [and] by being unaffected by global commodity markets, ratepayer’s electric bills will be lower and more predictable.”

On the consumer side, the bill extends tax credits on purchases of new and used electric vehicles, energy-efficient appliances, home solar panels and other so-called “green home” systems.

The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association has taken a cautiously optimistic position as it reviews the changes that the bill will usher into the energy industry.

“LMOGA welcomes the positive progress on Gulf of Mexico lease sales and the inclusion of provisions that address the energy transition, creating more operational certainty for our industry and encouraging continued investment in low carbon solutions, such as carbon capture and sequestration,”  the group's president, Tommy Faucheux, said in a statement.

Faucheux said the association remains cautious about tax policies that might hinder long-term investments.

“Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico are uniquely positioned to provide affordable, reliable, secure energy to meet American needs while simultaneously reducing our carbon footprint,” he said.

Louisiana's Republican senators oppose bill

Republicans, including both of Louisiana’s senators, have criticized the bill, claiming it will raise taxes and do nothing to curb inflation. In a statement, Sen. John Kennedy called it a “massive tax-and-spending bill,” and Sen. Bill Cassidy said it would hurt average Americans.

“This legislation does nothing to decrease inflation but raises the tax bill falling on everyday Americans,” Cassidy said in a statement.

The bill raises taxes only on the nation’s wealthiest corporations by implementing a 15% tax on the earnings they report to shareholders. It also imposes a 1% tax when companies buy back their own stock to the benefit of wealthy shareholders and executives.

This proposed tax policy is specifically geared to target a few dozen large corporations such as Amazon, Exxon Mobil, Bank of America and others that have paid little to no taxes on their profits by exploiting loopholes, according to a list compiled by the Center for American Progress.

Will it reduce inflation?

Tax policy experts are divided on whether the legislation will reduce inflation. A study by the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation warned that the new tax burden on those corporations could indirectly trickle down to hurt workers and average Americans.

Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-West Virginia, who has previously joined with GOP senators in halting many other policies proposed by Democrats, pushed back on the Republicans’ claims, telling Fox News last week that taxes will not be raised for regular Americans.

“How in the world can you be raising taxes when all we’re saying is the wealthiest corporations in America, 55 of them, pay zero to help this great country of ours to defend ourselves?” said Manchin, whose vote in favor was critical to passing the bill in the Senate.

Other policy experts agree the bill could reduce inflation by stemming the price volatility of fossil fuels such as natural gas, which has been a significant driver of inflation.

The non-partisan research group Resources For the Future conducted modeling that projects a 5-7% drop in retail electricity prices. It says the average household will save $170 to $220 over the next decade compared to a scenario without the Inflation Reduction Act.

A study from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan group of former congressional budget experts, says the bill is likely to ease inflationary pressures over the next decade. It says the bill would slash the federal deficit by $305 billion, cut net taxes by $2 billion and reduce net spending by $15 billion. The bill would reduce deficits by nearly $2 trillion over the next two decades, the report said.

— The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization driven by its mission to cast light on how decisions are made in Baton Rouge and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Inflation Reduction Act could push clean energy growth in Louisiana