Unlikely champion notches green energy win in megabill
Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona has for years been trying to pass legislation to boost solar and wind power on public lands, but has met with little success.
Now a little-noticed section of the House-passed Republican megabill includes portions of the House Freedom Caucus member's 'Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act.'
Specifically, the bill would share revenues from renewable projects with counties and states where the projects are located. The hope is that spreading cash around will make renewables more attractive for local governments.
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'I'm a guy that's all about all of the above,' Gosar said during an interview this week. 'Arizona's got great solar. We can't turn our back on it.'
Despite that enthusiasm, don't expect him to sign on to the Green New Deal just yet. He's more than happy to see renewable energy tax credits get rolled back in the reconciliation package, known formally as the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' H.R. 1.
'As long as nobody's getting any subsidies, and everyone's playing fair and square across the board, I think we win,' he said.
The Senate is now working on its own version of the budget reconciliation bill, with the hope of getting it to President Donald Trump's desk by July 4.
Lawmakers there say they have been eyeing changes to some of the rollbacks House Republicans made to energy tax credits. Under budget reconciliation rules, only a simple majority in both chambers is needed to pass the legislation.
Renewable energy backers have had little to cheer about in recent weeks. Aside from some nuclear and renewable fuel provisions, Gosar's language is one of the few green energy wins in the megabill.
Still, what's in there now is a slimmed down version of the 'Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act,' reintroduced in March as H.R. 1994.
Like many previous iterations over the past half-decade, that proposal includes provisions to speed up permitting and create a fund for conservation efforts, neither of which made it into the megabill. The former wasn't included because of Senate procedural issues, Gosar said.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office did not give a score for Gosar's portion of the megabill, though it seems likely to increase the deficit because money would be steered away from federal coffers.
According to text of the House-passed package, 50 percent of bonus bids, rentals, fees, permits and leases for renewable projects would go to states and counties that host such projects, divided evenly between the two. Currently, 100 percent of that money goes to the federal government. The new revenue-sharing arrangement would begin Jan. 1.
'We wanted people to embrace this at the district and state levels,' Gosar said. 'That way, some of the money came back to them. It's what we call 'sniffle money.''
Group support
Advocates like the American Clean Power Association have backed Gosar's past efforts, but they've had little to say this time around.
Jason Ryan, a spokesperson for ACP, declined comment, though in March, Frank Macchiarola, chief advocacy officer for the group, hailed H.R. 1994 as 'key to harnessing' renewable energy 'to enhance energy security, improve grid reliability, and boost local economies.'
The conservative Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, however, said it was 'pleased' to see a version of PLREDA make it into the reconciliation bill.
'It will be a positive driver of energy projects, especially in the West, that are crucial to securing American energy independence and national security interests,' Heather Reams, president of the group, said in a statement.
'Furthermore, we appreciate the preservation of flexibility for states and localities in how to best allocate funds and hope to see similar language come out of the Senate.'
According to House Natural Resources testimony from an Interior Department official last July, the Bureau of Land Management under President Joe Biden had permitted renewable energy projects expected to power about 2.4 million homes.
The chair of that committee, Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), deemed the revenue-sharing provision a modest win that should have widespread support. 'It is a bipartisan bill, and it is something Gosar was wanting to see in the package,' he said in an interview.
Partisan rift
It's not exactly bipartisan anymore. Ever since the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, the main Democratic co-sponsor of the bill, Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) has refused to join with Gosar on the legislation, instead offering his own version each year. Gosar has called the rioters 'peaceful patriots.'
Gosar seems to have moved on from all that, though he did have thoughts on Levin's parallel efforts.
'I think when you copy me, I think that's a … how should I say this? Great admiration. My work is pretty good.'
Gosar hasn't exactly been trumpeting his legislative victory. In a statement following the House vote on the bill in May, he lauded the legislation's border security and tax provisions, but failed to mention the provision he succeeded in inserting.
When asked if that was an oversight, he responded simply, 'Yeah.'
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