NEW ORLEANS — The so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed by President Trump on July 4, phases out tax credits that reduce costs for producing solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources.

Louisiana has experienced a recent boom in large solar farms, particularly in Washington and St. James parishes.

According to Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis, solar and wind energy are now cheaper alternatives to fossil fuels like natural gas and coal.

Lewis said the budget bill also includes changes to tax breaks for building new power generation plants.

“By phasing out some of these plans, de-incentivizing some of the cheaper options on the table right now such as wind, battery, and solar, even phasing out geothermal and nuclear as well means it’s going to be a lot more costly to build the power need to make sure meet our demand,” Lewis said.

Republican congressional leaders strongly dispute claims that household energy prices will increase because of this legislation.

“About 3% of Louisiana’s electricity demand is met with renewables, and even the majority of that is biomass, not wind or solar,” a Congressional energy policy staffer said. “So the idea that people’s electric bills are going to soar because the Louisiana taxpayer is no longer going to be subsidizing the green energy industry through their hard-earned tax dollars just simply doesn’t add up.”

According to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., the law opens federal lands and waters to new oil and gas drilling.

He said during a news conference after the bill passed that this will strengthen national security and lower energy prices.

“The attack on American energy we’ve seen for four years crushed jobs, crushed the economy, forced families to pay too much for gas, and emboldened the enemies of our nation,” Scalise said.

According to Jackson Voss from The Alliance for Affordable Energy, taking back tax breaks and investments in renewable energy will add more costs to consumers down the road.

“With the passage of this bill, there’s going to be the end of a number of tax credit and rebate programs that people would have had to make energy efficiency upgrades to their homes, and that will make it harder for people to bring their electricity bills down,” Voss said.

Scalise inserted a provision in the bill that increases the revenue sharing the state receives from energy exploration and production off the Louisiana coast.

He said the new funding will bring hundreds of millions of new dollars to Louisiana for coastal restoration and hurricane protection projects.

Sen. Bill Cassidy released this statement, “Democrats that are trying to discredit the One, Big, Beautiful bill are wrong. This bill will increase energy development and lower utility bills for Louisiana families. Energy installations that have started construction will continue.”

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