Green tech buyers scrap clean energy projects amid tax credit uncertainty

It’s no secret that President Trump wants to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, landmark climate legislation that provides tax credits and deductions to businesses and homeowners who invest in clean energy technology. Despite threats to its existence, though, the IRA and its tax provisions remain standing.

But green tech buyers are getting cold feet: According to a recent report from environmental business think tank E2, 16 clean energy projects have already been scrapped in 2025, resulting in almost $8 billion in clean tech investments lost. E2 attributed the cancellations to “concerns over [the] future of federal clean energy tax credits.”

“Clean energy companies still want to invest in America,” E2 Communications Director Michael Timberlake said in a press release. “But uncertainty over Trump administration policies and the future of critical clean energy tax credits are taking a clear toll.”

Rob Kaercher, CEO of Absolute Solar, is experiencing this phenomenon firsthand. Absolute Solar is a Michigan-based solar, energy storage, and EV charging provider, and Kaercher told Tech Brew that clients are pausing or canceling their clean energy projects with the company because they’re nervous that they won’t receive tax credits.

“If you insert a little bit of uncertainty into the system, that has a ripple effect,” Kaercher said. “It’s frustrating, because the law is there. It’s working. There is bipartisan support for it.”

So Kaercher said he’s been reassuring customers that the IRS is still providing tax credits per the IRA, and that—if anything—now would be the time to purchase clean tech and recoup the incentives in case the IRA is repealed in the near future.

“I never thought I would be in a position where I would have to be reassuring people that the IRS will follow the law,” Kaercher said. “I would love for the narrative to be more like, ‘Hey, now is the time. There’s no reason to wait.’”