Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is offering an amendment that seeks to undo the latest hurdles for solar and wind energy that were added to the GOP megabill over the weekend.
Murkowski’s amendment would replace sections pertaining to the phaseout of subsidies for solar and wind.
Like a prior GOP draft, her amendment, which was first reported by Politico, would allow projects that begin construction over the next few years to receive at least partial credit.
This differs from the version from this weekend that only allowed the credit for projects that actually begin producing electricity in the next few years, which is a much higher bar to clear.
Murkowski’s replacement version also differs from this weekend’s legislation because it does not appear to impose a sweeping new excise tax on future solar and wind projects if they contain Chinese components.
Phasing out the incentives along these lines would still be considered a significant cut to the climate-friendly tax credits. But it would be expected to have a less dramatic impact on renewables than the language made public over the weekend.
Whether Murkowski’s amendment will ultimately make it into the bill is not immediately clear.