HIF Global plans a $7 billion e-methanol plant in Matagorda County, Texas, aiming to be the world’s biggest. The facility would produce eco-friendly fuel for ships and planes using captured CO2 and green hydrogen made with renewable energy, while creating thousands of jobs. However, the company is holding off on a final investment call until the Republican-led Congress decides on clean energy tax credits, especially for hydrogen, as part of a major budget bill. The House already passed a version slashing these credits, which could hurt the project’s edge against Chinese competitors, says HIF’s Lee Beck.
The Trump administration has been tough stance on green energy, pulling out of the Paris Agreement, pausing renewable projects on federal land, and freezing funds from Biden’s Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction Acts (IRA), which Trump dubs the “Green New Scam.” Legal fights over these pauses could hit the Supreme Court, while Congress debates tweaking or scrapping the IRA, likely gutting tax credits set to expire in 2032. Credits for EVs, home efficiency, clean power, and green tech manufacturing are also on the chopping block, despite many projects being in GOP districts.
Critics, like the Cato Institute, slam the IRA’s tax credits as too costly, with “unlimited liability” for taxpayers. Clean energy investment in the U.S. dropped 3.8% to $67.3 billion in Q1 2025, per the Clean Investment Monitor, due to inflation, high interest rates, supply chain woes, and policy uncertainty. Six clean energy projects, mostly battery-related and worth $6.9 billion, were canceled, and new project announcements are slowing as companies doubt demand for green products. Tariffs could further raise costs for imported parts.
Meanwhile, firms like LanzaJet, which makes sustainable aviation fuel, are tweaking marketing to focus on local resources rather than climate change, adapting to the political climate. LanzaJet’s $3 million FAA grant for greener aviation, funded by the IRA, is currently stalled, reflecting broader delays in green funding. The future of U.S. clean energy hangs on Congress’s final budget deal.