After learning President Donald Trump’s big budget proposal calls for repealing tax incentives meant to spur clean energy investments and fight climate change, some policy experts, politicians, and workers say they fear a repeal could stunt Ohio job growth and economic investment.
The incentives were part of the Inflation Reduction Act, also known as IRA, in what was the single largest federal investment in climate action in U.S. history.
Ohio has seen over $10 billion in investments and 14,000 new clean energy jobs since the passage of the IRA in 2022. That’s according to an analysis from environmental advocacy group Climate Power.
Local supporters of the 2022 clean energy plan, including Dayton Mayor Jeffrey J. Mims, are concerned about the risks to Ohio’s economy if these tax incentives disappear.
Projects like the Joby Aviation manufacturing facility in Dayton, which will see an investment up to $500 million, are funded by the IRA, Mims said.
“2,000 jobs. And because that space is ours, the tax revenue comes straight to the city of Dayton…” Mims said. “So again, as far as the state is concerned and as far as the nation is concerned, this to me makes absolutely no sense to repeal.”
In Montgomery County, five IRA-funded projects are estimated to create over 3,000 jobs and nearly $900 million in investments. And Honda’s $4.4 billion EV expansion in Fayette County — the largest private investment made in Ohio’s history — is also thanks in part to the IRA.
Mims said the state has worked hard to create an upward trajectory for jobs over the past two decades. In 2011, Ohio was 48th in job creation.
“It's a miracle because of a lot of hard work that we've been able to do, both on a bipartisan basis, as well as also with our schools and with our community leaders,” he said.
Climate Power’s analysis finds Ohio is ranked sixth in the nation for new clean energy projects — anything from solar farms to electric vehicle production, which supports jobs in manufacturing and construction.
But the climate and energy policy think tank Energy Innovation Policy and Technology estimates 18,400 Ohio jobs will be lost in 2030 if IRA funds and tax incentives are repealed.
“As energy demand continues to skyrocket, any modifications that inhibit our ability to deploy new energy production risk sparking an energy crisis in our country.”
Pat Hook, with IBEW Local 683, an electrical workers’ union in Central Ohio, said these projects have allowed the local to expand its apprenticeship program.
“Sometimes these green energy projects might just give someone their first opportunity in our industry, but then that leads to a career (where) they'll work on a host of other projects throughout the next few decades,” Hook said. “Any rollback of IRA legislation and tax incentives is bad for business development and Ohio workers.”
Repealing the Inflation Reduction Act tax incentives would raise household energy bills for the average Ohioan by $20 by 2030 and up to $50 by 2035, said Robbie Orvis, senior director for analysis at Energy Innovation Policy and Technology
“That's an extra $277 million that Ohioans would have to pay for their energy bills,” said Orvis.
Eliminating these funds is a part of Trump’s policy agenda. Through one of his first-day executive orders, he attempted to prevent a dispersal of money Congress allocated toward climate-change mitigation and clean energy projects. In the coming weeks, the House Ways and Means committee will decide whether or not to include 2022 climate and clean energy tax credits in its upcoming budget reconciliation bill.
In most cases, U.S. clean energy investments are contingent upon these tax incentives. In other parts of the country, some companies have even moved to cancel their projects due to the uncertainty of the tax incentives’ future.
A a letter was submitted by 21 House Republicans, including an Ohio legislator, to the Ways and Means committee chair earlier this month, with concerns that changes to energy tax incentives would “jeopardize” these investments and project commitments and can lead to defects in energy production.
“As energy demand continues to skyrocket, any modifications that inhibit our ability to deploy new energy production risk sparking an energy crisis in our country,” the letter reads.
