Changes in federal policies under President Donald Trump have left renewable energy funding and incentives in a state of uncertainty.

“Unfortunately, a lot of tax credits and federal programs are vulnerable right now,” Sara Birmingham, the vice president of state affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association, said while moderating a panel discussion at Electrify New Mexico last week.

Electrify New Mexico is an annual conference focused on trends and opportunities in the electric sector, particularly in terms of renewable energy development. It is hosted by the Renewable Energy Industries Association New Mexico.

Birmingham moderated a panel focused on federal funding and incentives. The panel discussed how people within the electric sector are working with the uncertainty around federal funding and what resources are available at the state level.

The panel members included Neal Skiver, a finance consultant based out of Santa Fe and president of LVL Financial; Rebecca “Puck” Stair, the director of the state’s Energy Conservation and Management Division of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department; and Mayane Chavez Barudin, the executive director of Sovereign Energy.

Birmingham said solar is currently the “fastest and most affordable” form of electricity that can be deployed to meet growing energy demands amid an increase in artificial intelligence, data centers and other sectors. She said the solar and battery storage sector in the United States is a $64 billion industry that employs 280,000 workers.

Birmingham said the sector has grown in recent years, but recent announcements from the Trump administration have caused some concerns. Some of the federal agencies have announced plans to move away from “Green New Deal” policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act. Various news organizations have reported on a so-called “hit list” at the U.S. Department of Energy, which includes at least one project in New Mexico.

“I don’t think that we’re going to really know the exact answers until we see when the White House releases the budget,” Birmingham said.

She said some federal tax credits are more vulnerable than others. 

“This is really going to be decided in the next couple weeks to a month, and it’s a really, really fluid situation,” Birmingham said.

Stair had several strategy recommendations going forward, including using different terminology. She said instead of using terms like environmental justice, climate or diversity, equity and inclusion, the industry should use terms such as security, lowering costs and efficiency.

“I would recommend moving fast. The more that you have executed and signed and the further down the runway you are, the harder it is for that to be walked back,” she said.

Stair further recommended having several sources of funding for projects. That is one place where the state can help, she said. Her office has about 35 “different buckets of different programs for different things,” she said. Information about those resources can be found at cleanenergy.nm.gov.

From an Indigenous perspective, Chavez Barudin said under President Joe Biden’s administration, “unprecedented amounts of dollars” were allocated toward Tribal clean energy projects.

“Now, I think we know it’s vastly different. A lot of that federal funding has been clawed back,” she said.

She said under the Trump administration, there’s been an increase in interest in national security and in using Tribal lands for fossil fuel development.

Chavez Barudin emphasized that Native American people “are not a monolith.”

“We see a large spectrum of support or opposition to different fossil fuel mineral extraction,” she said.

At the same time, she said the state of uncertainty for Indigenous peoples goes beyond just the clean energy sector. She gave the example of loss of federal funding for education.

“Tribes will still be able to come back and figure out how we can make this work for us,” she said.

Stair also had some positive messages for the audience. She said that even though there is uncertainty at the federal level, the markets are on the side of renewable energy development. She said the transition to renewable energy is global and highlighted that in 2024, more than 40% of global energy was supplied by renewable resources.

“I would try to be proactive, not reactive,” she said.