Leaders of the Data Center Coalition, which advocates for data center owners such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, urged U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to enforce current regulations for solar and wind energy subsidies, claiming that they have allowed the sector to expand rapidly and maintain an advantage over Chinese competitors.
At a time when power consumption is rising due to artificial intelligence and the digital economy, stricter regulations on how projects can be eligible for federal clean energy tax credits may impede the growth of new electricity generation.
"Any regulatory friction that slows down deployment of new generation today directly impacts our ability to meet AI-era electricity demands tomorrow," the coalition wrote in its letter to Bessent.
In July, President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing Treasury to strengthen the regulations governing clean energy tax credits, including clarifying the definition of "start of construction" for projects.
Leaders from the Clean Energy Associates, an advising group, said this week that if harsher "beginning of construction" standards are put in place, the United States may lose roughly 60 gigawatts of planned solar capacity through 2030. The sector has been depending on the current regulations for the past 10 years.
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According to the DCC, the U.S. data center sector directly employed over 600,000 people and made $3.5 trillion in contributions to the country's GDP between 2017 and 2023. As early as August 18, the Treasury Department is anticipated to release revised recommendations.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order to stop "market distorting subsidies for unreliable, foreign controlled energy sources" just days after signing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4th.
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Wind and solar energy, according to the directive, displace "affordable, reliable, dispatchable domestic energy sources, compromise our electric grid, and denigrate the beauty of our Nation's natural landscape." It requests that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent limit the "use of broad safe harbors unless a substantial portion of a subject facility has been built" by issuing new guidelines.