Today, Project Vanguard—an organization that connects veterans with jobs in the clean energy industry—joined Clean Energy for America and veteran business leaders in clean energy on a press call highlighting what’s at stake for veterans, their families and communities, and America’s national security in the Republican budget bill passed by the House this month.

Speakers on the call issued a stark warning about the implications of gutting clean energy tax credits in the budget reconciliation bill on consumers and veterans. The credits have not only delivered tangible benefits to American families—lower energy bills, good-paying jobs, and major investments in local communities—but are also becoming increasingly essential for meeting America’s growing energy demand.

The House GOP budget would eliminate these critical energy tax credits, upending America’s clean energy boom, killing thousands of jobs, and raising electricity bills for families and businesses nationwide.

The stakes are high for veterans: with veterans making up 10 percent of the clean energy workforce—twice the rate of other industries—eliminating these tax credits would hurt not only America’s economic competitiveness and energy leadership, but also the military families who have served our nation.

“[If the House budget is passed] you’re going to see a good tranche of utility-scale projects get cut immediately[…] We’re just going to see a huge pullback from investments inside of advanced manufacturing here in the US, and we’re going to see those jobs go to other places in the world that are going to produce this.” said Kevin Doffing, CEO and Founder of Project Vanguard. “With the rate that veterans are growing in this industry, [if this bill is passed] we’re just going to miss out on huge opportunities […] If we’re not investing into clean energy and the utility scale, we’re just missing out on huge opportunities for veteran jobs.”

“This bill just puts us further behind. It does nothing to advance us, there is no policy on reshoring manufacturing this bill. It is all about going backwards. We were literally the first boots on the ground renewable energy solar company, and the longest standing in Iowa. We’ve been operating […] everything from small residential all the way up to utility scale solar, and we created really good jobs — approachable jobs,” Troy Van Beek, CEO & Founder of Ideal Energy. “We are building our energy security in this nation, and it brings me great pride to do so. What troubles me is the rocking of the boat to such a degree that we can’t get anything done […] [the clean energy industry has] developed really good jobs. [My company] went from 20 some jobs to over 60 jobs — and those are good paying jobs for people and their families. We’re feeling the crunch right now because of the instability in that market, because of the fear that there’s going to be changes in these incentives, and it’s hurting the industry and our opportunity to produce renewables.”

“Just the mere threat of [repeal] is what’s creating so much stress in the industry right now. I have tens of millions of dollars on the line with these projects that we’re working on — and that’s on pause. So just the threat of [repeal] is causing the industry to teeter.”

“With increasing demand — not only from individuals, but also infrastructure and manufacturing demands — we have to have [energy tax credits]. Solar and wind are the easiest to get online at the moment, and we need to make sure we keep our foot on the gas and sustain this growth. If not, we are going to lose out internationally […] especially in AI and data center demand,” said Brian Chen, Vice President of Sales, Energy & Infrastructure and Houston Commercial. “Moving forward, it’s imperative, not only from an energy security perspective — that is, creating American energy — but also from a workforce perspective.” 

“This is a question of output. We all acknowledge that energy security is national security and vice versa, and to be competitive and advance the next generation technologies we need  to increase our output. But, in order to do that, you’ve got to have a deep bench of options to get there,” said Mary Coyne, Navy Veteran and Renewable Energy Professional. “Right now, what this bill does is it completely undercuts a massive portion of that bench and sets us back from where we need to be. We need to be building more now […] The most important thing is to encourage and unleash the different [energy] options, and empower small and large businesses to continue to help solve that problem by building that output.”

“What has happened over the last several years you’ve had manufacturers, because of the inflation Reduction Act tax credit and all the benefits that go along with it, start to invest in U.S. manufacturing Qcells — manufacturers making almost the entire product here in the United States,” said Steve Rutherford, CEO & Founder of Tampa Bay Solar & Siera USA. “But, [if the House budget passes] all of that is going to come to a halt. All of that innovation that’s being brought into the United States, all the jobs that have been created related to manufacturing, all those things are going to be wiped out — or a great majority.”

“Our big concern here is a scorched earth policy – [that would just] quickly and radically get rid of all of the benefits that solar has been bringing to the country as a whole. I am hoping that the Senate looks at [the bill] and sees that this is an industry that employs more people in the United States than oil and gas combined, if you look at things overall.”