Fedorchak calls for end to wind and solar subsidies
Federal subsidies enjoyed by wind and solar power developers would be phased out and eliminated over five years under legislation introduced by North Dakota Rep. Julie Fedorchak.
The first-term GOP representative’s Ending Intermittent Energy Subsidies Act would reduce Biden-era production and investment tax credits by 20 percent annually, while preserving incentives for nuclear, hydropower, geothermal and other so-called dispatchable energy sources.
“Wind and solar are no longer emerging technologies—they’re mature, market-proven, and widely deployed,” Fedorchak said in a news release. “By continuing to incentivize these intermittent energy sources through generous tax credits, we’re distorting energy markets and sending the absolute wrong signal to investors. As all the grid operators are saying, we need more dispatchable resources. We must stop providing generous incentives that run contrary to that.”
The bill would also end the practice of transferring renewable tax credits to other buyers to close a “loophole that inflates their value and prolongs market imbalances.”
As the Grand Forks Herald points out, North Dakota serves as an example of the rapid growth of the wind industry with the benefit of subsidies.
In 2023, wind power generated 36% of North Dakota’s power, its second-largest energy source next to the 55% generated by coal-fired plants, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Wind power generation more than doubled in the state between 2015 and 2023.
“They’re very generous subsidies. They’ve been extremely effective,” Fedorchak said. “Quite frankly, they aren’t needed anymore.”
The longtime member of the state Public Service Commission notes that the energy requirements of data centers across the country illustrate the need to expand the capacity of traditional energy generation.
Fedorchak said the state needs to respond rapidly to increased electricity demand from new artificial intelligence data centers the state has sought to draw to North Dakota, as well as concerns about the reliability of the MISO grid amid increased weather events and the transition to renewable energy.
“I think that means everything, whatever can be brought on – the speed of need,” Fedorchak said. “We have a huge opportunity to be one of the solutions to the power needs of AI, and I hope we seize the opportunity to do that.”
Three fellow members of the Energy and Commerce, Republicans Gary Palmer (R-AL), Randy Weber (R-TX), and Craig Goldman (R-TX), co-sponsored Fedorchak’s legislation.