There's already a substantial amount of money invested in green energy within Louisiana. With the passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill” (as it has often been referred to) that would slash green energy subsidies, what impacts might be felt in Louisiana?
Greg Upton, Director of the LSU Center for Energy Studies, joined WWL’s Tommy Tucker to discuss the future of green energy in Louisiana.
Upton explains, “The Gulf Coast is really at the epicenter of the global energy markets. So, Louisiana has seen an enormous amount of growth and investment in those sectors. So, when the Inflation Reduction Act passed, Louisiana was perhaps among the states most impacted by that."
While Upton understands the pushback from taxpayers who disagree with those subsidies, he does concede that they’ve become crucial to driving the industry at home.
“Once these subsidies go through, it can be really hard to change those. The individuals and companies getting those subsidies are making economic decisions based on that,” explains Upton.
While Governor Jeff Landry has previously touted some green energy projects, saying they’re an example of Louisiana’s ‘All of the Above’ approach to energy, he has come out in opposition to subsidies.
“We’ve seen investments in solar energy in Louisiana, investments in hydrogen production, and low-carbon emission fuels. There are many more sectors across the board that the state is invested in, and much of that was spurred by the subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act,” Upton told WWL’s Tommy Tucker.
With many companies moving forward with those investments based on the tax regimes in place and planning in earnest for future projects, the current proposed changes of removing the subsidies that made them invest in the first place could cause a lot of shakeup.
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