Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA, P.L. 117-169) in 2022, more than 400,000 clean energy jobs were created and over $422 billion invested in 48 states and districts, including Puerto Rico.
Despite the IRA’s success, the Trump administration and some members of Congress are threatening to repeal the legislation so they can fund more tax cuts for wealthy people and increase deportations of migrants.
Repealing these tax credits will raise bills for families and eliminate hundreds of thousands of well-paid jobs. Research shows that a repeal of the IRA could cost the country 790,000 jobs by 2035 and increase household electricity bills by an average of 10%. More than a third of the US population already make sacrifices to pay their electricity bills.
This repeal is particularly concerning for people of faith. Faith communities around the country have used IRA tax credits to install clean energy projects or increase their buildings’ energy efficiency.
Notably, the IRA allows for certain tax-exempt entities like houses of worship to receive rebates, or “direct pay,” for clean energy investments. This provision has allowed Quaker meetings to save money and redirect these savings to further serve their communities.
“The world is God’s creation. How we treat the Earth and all its creatures is basic to our relationship with God, and of fundamental religious concern to the Society of Friends.”
In Media, PA, Friends at Providence Monthly Meeting used the IRA clean energy tax credits to reduce their carbon footprint. Since 2021, Providence Monthly Meeting has been discerning how to bear witness to their values of sustainability and stewardship.
The IRA rebate was the deciding factor that led the meeting to install solar panels. After consultations with Friends, neighbors, vendors, and their electricity provider, Providence Monthly Meeting installed an array of solar panels on their grounds in 2023.
While pursuing their rebate, the meeting faced delays from government agencies. Finally, in December 2024, Providence Friends Meeting received a 40% rebate through the IRA’s direct pay provision.
Bob Redfern, a member of the meeting, underscored that they would not have undertaken the project without the IRA and the rebate. With this solar array, the meeting anticipates saving a substantial amount on their electricity bills.
In Bucks County, PA, the Wrightstown Friends Meeting has been dedicated to environmental stewardship and care for creation for many years. After learning about the IRA rebate in late 2023, the meeting decided to install a solar array and geothermal heat pump, both of which qualify for a 30% subsidy.
Both the rebate and the estimated savings of these sustainable energy systems motivated the meeting’s decision. The savings will enable them to continue running a nursery school and social hall in their community.
The clerk of the Wrightstown Friends Meeting, Jeffrey Cogshall, said that the meeting is still in the process of filing for the rebate but has complied with the requirements to ensure their eligibility.
However, the meeting fears that with the threats to repeal the IRA clean energy tax credits, they may fail to get the subsidy, estimated to be about $44,000.
As the Providence and Wrightstown Friends Meetings demonstrate, the clean energy tax credits are a critical way in which Friends and other houses of worship around the nation are prophetically bearing witness to confronting the climate crisis.
FCNL is committed to advocating for the protection of these credits as part of our own respect for God’s creation. Urge your members of Congress to protect clean energy investments!
