North Carolina Republicans Aren’t Worried About Cuts To Clean Energy – CleanTechnica

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The government of North Carolina is heavily dominated by Republicans, except for the governor, who swept to victory earlier this month because the Republican nominee was so loathsome that even his own party refused to support him. North Carolina has also been a key recipient of clean energy funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed in Congress in 2022 without a single Republican vote. Those of us who toil away in the salt mines here at CleanTechnica have been trying to understand how so many people could vote against their own self interest, but at a Conservatives for Clean Energy luncheon in Raleigh last week, those in attendance — which included the Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy — downplayed the potential impact of a second Trump term on clean energy progress.

Conservatives for Clean Energy is a nonprofit that brings together lobbyists, consultants, and politicians on the right who support clean energy. It was formed a decade ago just before the first Trump administration began and is now active in six Southeast states. Its head, Mark Fleming, told Canary Media he has a prediction for those terrified about the impact of a second Trump administration on the clean energy transition: ​“It’s going to work out better than folks think.”

The luncheon in Raleigh was very much like past affairs — congenial vibes, a half dozen awards to politicians and businesses, and presentations by leading Republican consultants who gave their assessments about the political position of clean energy in the wake of the most recent election. “It was an election about the economy and immigration,” explained Paul Shumaker, a pollster who is a fixture at these gatherings. ​“Clean energy is never going to be the issue.”

Clean Energy Has Republican Support

Trump and his hostile, mostly fact-free rants on the campaign trail about wind energy and the climate crisis got little mention during the presentations. Side conversations showed that conservatives seemed relatively unconcerned about the future president’s tirades and threats. “Governing is different than campaigning,” Mark Fleming said. He and others believe much of Trump’s rhetoric was tossed as red meat to his base of supporters and won’t get meaningful follow-through. On technologies such as offshore wind — which the incoming president frequently makes fun of — it is possible the next administration and even Trump himself can be convinced of its economic benefits, attendees suggested.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican who supports offshore wind in his state, ​“will be at the top of the list of conservative policy makers in terms of encouraging the Trump administration to look at the positives on offshore wind,” Fleming said. ​“It makes long term economic sense, but there’s going to be some education there.” Trump did flip his stance on offshore drilling four years ago to help his re-election chances — at least in the Southern Atlantic states — after input from Republicans in those states who oppose the practice. Despite Trump’s vague promise to curtail the Inflation Reduction Act, Fleming believes congressional Republicans will preserve most of Biden’s signature climate law because of its benefits in rural areas.

Nine new projects  that benefit North Carolina were announced by the Biden administration the year after the IRA was passed. They range from lithium processing to EV charging equipment plants and will create tens of thousands of jobs while adding $10 billion to North Carolina’s GDP, according to clean economy group E2. Such data will be important for members of Congress like Senator Thom Tillis, North Carolina’s senior senator and a Republican. It will help him in his efforts to preserve most of the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions. “He has been such a thoughtful leader on energy issues,” Fleming said of Tillis. ​“He’s going to be a key decision maker in the U.S. Senate on these clean energy issues moving forward.”

Jason Saine, a Lincoln County Republican who served more than a dozen years in the North Carolina House and now works as a lobbyist, was among the luncheon’s awardees. He says Trump’s rhetoric is just part of politics. “Good science and good facts will rule the day, but in the meantime, we’ll suffer through a lot of rhetoric,” he said. Like some of his conservative colleagues who focus on federal policy, Fleming hopes the closely divided Congress will have new reason to enact reforms to the permitting process that will speed approval of clean energy as well as fossil fuel projects. Although he is confident that much of the Inflation Reduction Act will survive, Fleming believes Congress will trim it using a ​“scalpel rather than a sledgehammer” approach. Saine agrees. ​“It can always be recreated in a different format and voted on again,” he said. ​“What’s dead today is never dead tomorrow.”

Is The IRA History?

With regard to the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles, which Donald Trump and Elon Musk want eliminated, Mike Fleming believes it is spurring plenty of economic development in rural areas where EV and battery factories are under construction — bringing much needed jobs to those areas. Still, the incentive is perceived as benefiting only urban people — the ones who are buying those electric cars. The impact on local economies is harder to see. “The administration will want wins,” Fleming insisted. ​“We won’t agree on everything. But I think we’ll have opportunities to work together to move the economy forward and move the clean energy cause forward in D.C.”

Still, as the change in leadership in Washington gets closer, Fleming acknowledged Conservatives for Clean Energy has an important role to play. “It’s going to be better than folks think, but the onus will be on all of us to make it happen. Now groups like ours are more needed than ever. That thought leadership on these issues will be on the right. It’s not going to be from our friends on the left.”

The Takeaway

It is refreshing not to hear the hate filled bombast that has characterized the public utterances of the next occupant of the Offal Office from this group of Republicans in North Carolina. Maybe their “don’t worry, be happy” blandishments will come true. Around the juice bar in the employee lounge here at CleanTechnica global headquarters, we are taking a wait and see attitude. Quite frankly, we think groups like Conservatives for Clean Energy are going to find they are mocked and ignored by the new party bosses determined to put Project 2025 into action, and we presume next year’s luncheon won’t be quite so filled with gentle bonhomie. We fervently hope we are wrong.

Image (cropped): More offshore wind turbines are coming to New Jersey and the US Atlantic coast, despite the complications of a century-old federal shipping law and pushback from fossil energy stakeholders (courtesy of EDF-RE).