President Donald Trump called for new rules that would restrict access to tax incentives for solar and wind projects that already had been pared back by his $3.4 trillion budget bill designed to end green energy incentives.
Trump directed the Treasury Department to more strictly define when a project has started construction, including restricting the use of efforts to lock in tax credits unless a substantial portion has been built, according to an executive order issued Monday.
Under the tax-and-spending bill signed into law July 4, solar and wind developments are eligible for tax credits if they begin construction within 12 months. That provision had irked fiscal conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus, who wanted to see an end to the incentives.
The executive order comes after reports the Trump administration had struck a deal with the Freedom Caucus to more closely scrutinize the incentives in exchange for support for the budget package.
The order also calls for the implementation of restrictions on incentives for clean energy projects that have ties to foreign entities of concern, including China. In addition, Trump ordered the Department of the Interior to get rid of regulations that offer favorable treatment to wind and solar facilities.
