Solar Industry’s Lobbying Blitz: A Desperate Push to Keep the Handouts Flowing

February 5, 2025

On Wednesday, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and its allies flooded Capitol Hill in a last-ditch effort to cling to Biden-era subsidies. They know that they cannot survive without reaching into the taxpayer’s coffers.

SEIA’s entire business model depends on taxpayer-funded lifelines. Without the Inflation Reduction Act’s lavish tax credits, so-called “clean energy” companies know they can’t compete with the reliability, affordability, and efficiency of fossil fuels. That’s why they’re scrambling to convince lawmakers that repealing these subsidies will somehow kill jobs and investment—conveniently ignoring that their industry exists only because of government support in the first place.

Wind and Solar: Built on False Promises and Foreign Dependence

While SEIA’s lobbyists whisper in the ears of Hill staffers about “American jobs,” they leave out some inconvenient facts:

• Wind and solar rely on slave labor. The solar supply chain is dominated by China, where Uyghur slave labor is used to produce polysilicon—a key material in solar panels. The same goes for wind turbines, which are heavily dependent on Chinese rare earth minerals extracted through brutal, exploitative practices.
• Wind and solar are environmentally disastrous. Despite claiming the moral high ground and parroting billionaires , these industries devastate landscapes and require immense mineral extraction. The mining of lithium, cobalt, and other rare earth minerals essential for wind turbines and solar panels destroys ecosystems and exploits workers in Africa, South America, and China.
• China benefits—America loses. SEIA’s lobbyists want to keep the illusion alive that they’re countering China’s dominance. But in reality, the green energy agenda is the best thing that ever happened to Beijing. China controls the raw materials, the supply chains, and the manufacturing. Every tax dollar spent propping up wind and solar funnels money right into the Chinese Communist Party’s pockets.

The Bottom Line: SEIA Can’t Survive Without Your Money

If wind and solar are truly “cost-competitive,” why do they need billions in subsidies to exist? SEIA’s entire plea to Congress boils down to one thing: keep propping us up, or we’ll collapse.

It’s time to stop the charade. Fossil fuels don’t need handouts to power the nation. They remain the backbone of American energy, providing affordable, reliable, and abundant power—without relying on China or enslaving workers. The Trump administration is right to roll back these corporate welfare programs. Let the solar industry sink or swim on its own. Spoiler: it’ll sink.