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Kilton Webb is a member of the IBEW Local 567 and a member of the Maine House of Representatives.
As an IBEW member in Maine representing over 4,000 workers, I know firsthand how important clean energy is to making our economy work for all of us. Investments in clean energy have enabled our union locals to create good-paying jobs, and drive down energy costs — something at the top of every Mainer’s mind — all while helping America maintain our global competitiveness.
The U.S. House budget reconciliation bill, however, proposes what amounts to a total repeal of many clean energy investments, putting our jobs at risk. As SEIA, the primary trade organization for the solar industry, put it: “this proposed legislation will effectively dismantle the most successful industrial onshoring effort in U.S. history.”
Let’s be clear: This bill is a direct assault on American manufacturing and American-made energy right here in Maine.
I have seen the benefits of clean energy investments myself. I began my career as an electrician, and my first job was on a solar field in Kennebunk. I’ve built dozens of solar farms across the state, a job that has helped me pay off debt, purchase a home, and advance to a journeyman electrician. I am honored to now represent Durham in the Maine House of Representatives.
I strongly support clean energy investments at both the federal level and in the private sector because they are fueling a clean energy economic boom with companies like Nyle Water Heating Systems here in Maine.
Maine has been a national leader in clean energy generation, with over two-thirds of the state’s total energy generation coming from clean energy, including 27 percent from wind and 13 percent from solar. We will need even more to meet rising demand.
Unfortunately, we have already seen how extreme Republican attempts to repeal clean energy are impacting Maine’s energy supply and jobs. In April 2025, Maine’s first planned offshore wind array Pine Tree Offshore Wind paused the project because of President Donald Trump’s opposition to wind energy. This delay is pulling the plug on 144 megawatts of energy, shrinking the state’s energy supply and putting the burden on Maine families.
Repeal of clean energy tax credits will also hurt Maine disproportionately because our rural state has 145 utility-scale projects either operating or in development across the state that could be eligible for these tax credits. That means 9,100 jobs, $8.8 billion in investment, and nearly 5,000 megawatts of power generation or storage.
The Trump Administration has already arbitrarily attacked Mainers’ access to energy efficient heat pumps that can help bring the costs of heating and cooling our homes under control, even as Maine is embracing them more and more, but now U.S. House Republicans want to immediately repeal all federal tax credits that can help working people lower their energy bills. All of this to cover a small fraction of tax cuts that go primarily to the wealthy — how does that make any sense?
Sen. Susan Collins, who has represented us since 1997, has been a longtime supporter of Maine’s clean energy development. Her support for Form Energy’s battery energy storage in Lincoln, for example, helped establish the largest long-duration energy storage project in the world. On April 9, four of her Republican colleagues in the Senate wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, in support of the clean energy tax credits that have brought direct benefits to so many parts of the country.
“As Republicans committed to strengthening America’s energy security and economic growth, we write to emphasize the importance of maintaining a stable and predictable tax framework to promote domestic energy development. While we support fiscal responsibility and prudent efforts to streamline the tax code, we caution against the full-scale repeal of current credits, which could lead to significant disruptions for the American people and weaken our position as a global energy leader,” they wrote in their letter.
This is exactly right. Unfortunately, the House bill will implement unreasonable phaseouts, impossible red tape and restrictions, or outright termination of tax credits for clean energy that together make the tax credits completely unworkable, by design. This bill is essentially a full-scale repeal. It also repeals home energy tax credits, which would lead directly to higher energy costs, in addition to good-paying jobs.
Repealing clean energy tax credits would gut America’s clean energy production, raising costs for Maine families and killing hundreds of thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs nationwide. Trump and Republicans promised to lower energy costs. Instead, this legislation would undermine America’s fastest-growing, most affordable energy sources.
Thankfully, Collins has an opportunity to inject some common sense into this bill and protect clean energy and the jobs that come along with it. Now that the bill has passed the House, it will move to the Senate next. Repealing clean energy investments would be bad for American businesses and bad for American workers. I urge Collins to continue being the leader we need and fix this reckless legislation.
