| | | | |  | | By Arianna Skibell | | Presented by |  | | | |  Jared Kushner listens as former President Donald Trump announces he is running for a second term as president at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 15, 2022. | Andrew Harnik/AP | Familial conflict is nothing new. But for Jared Kushner, it could prove costly. The former White House adviser's investment firm has poured big money into American solar projects — the same ones that are benefiting from policies Kushner’s father-in-law, former President Donald Trump, has pledged to dismantle if he wins back the White House, writes Scott Waldman. Affinity Partners has invested more than $100 million into the California solar finance company Mosaic, according to a person who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the firm’s portfolio. The fund’s stake in Mosaic is “north of 10 percent,” and Affinity holds a seat on the company’s board, the person told Scott. The company — and Kushner’s firm — is riding a boom in solar energy, propelled in part by President Joe Biden’s climate law. The Inflation Reduction Act has spurred $13 billion of private investment, according to the White House, and solar energy accounted for more than half of all new electric generating capacity last year. But Trump has made the repeal of clean energy policies central to his campaign platform. At a recent rally, he vowed to impose “an immediate moratorium on all new spending, grants and giveaways under ... Joe Biden’s mammoth socialist bills like the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.” Is Kushner’s stake in the industry enough to influence Trump’s approach to clean energy? Probably not, said Tom Pyle, who was on Trump’s Department of Energy transition team. “It doesn’t feel like a whole lot of money to me, for him to be like, ‘Oh, gosh, I better be nice to solar now,’” Pyle told Scott. But the solar industry is growing and profitable. Since the climate law passed, Mosaic has almost doubled its loans to homeowners for solar projects and sustainable home improvements. The company has now issued more than $14 billion in loans. Fossil fuel companies — which Trump has courted, asking oil executives to donate $1 billion to his campaign — have also entered the clean energy marketplace. “The truth is that this is a good thing for them, it’s a good thing for their pocketbooks, it’s a good thing for the country — in terms of jobs — and it’s a necessity for the climate,” said Andrew Rosenberg, who was a senior official at NOAA during the Clinton administration.
| | | It's Wednesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net.
| | | | A message from Southern Environmental Law Center: Burning trees for energy devastates forests, harms nearby communities, which are disproportionately Black and low-income, and makes climate change worse. An upcoming Treasury Department decision on clean energy tax credits for the biomass industry could undermine President Biden’s climate agenda and environmental justice commitment. Redirecting tax credits to truly clean energy industries like solar, wind, and storage will accelerate our energy transition, combat climate change, and create stable jobs. Learn more here. | | | | | | Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Catherine Morehouse breaks down the confirmation path for Biden’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission nominees and why some industry observers remain at the edge of their seats.
| | Dispatches from POLITICO’s 2024 Energy Summit today in Washington: Republican lawmakers want to keep parts of Biden’s climate law — but Trump might not
“If Donald Trump wins the election he’s going to take a look at the revenue,” said a former Trump transition team member. Tom Perez: Just like Obamacare, Biden’s clean energy law is here to stay
“This is part of our ecosystem,” said Perez, the director of the White House’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Biden’s climate chief warns against ‘U-turn agenda’
Biden’s opponents would not just stall the efforts to fight climate change, they would reverse the progress the administration has made, White House chief climate adviser Ali Zaidi warns.
| | | | A message from Southern Environmental Law Center:   | | | | | | | 
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) is leading a team focused on extending the 2017 tax cut law. | Alex Brandon/AP | Tax cut-happy Republicans target climate law
House Republicans hoping to extend the 2017 income tax cuts are beginning to systematically examine tax provisions in the Democrats’ landmark climate law, writes Kelsey Brugger. Many of the clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act are considered low-hanging fruit by Republicans who want to offset tax cut extensions. Lithium in drinking water
The U.S. Geological Survey has mapped for the first time which areas in the country are at risk for high levels of lithium in groundwater, writes Ellie Borst. Lithium is a metal used in rechargeable batteries. About 40 percent of groundwater taken from wells, which covers roughly half of the nation’s water supply, contains concentrations of lithium above the government's health reference level. Yet it's unclear how dangerous that is. California takes 'uncertain' climate path
California is planning to rely partly on carbon capture and storage to reach its highly ambitious emissions reduction goals — a strategy the state itself says is “uncertain” because the technology is still being developed, writes Anne C. Mulkern.
| | ‘Hanging by a thread’: U.N. chief warns of missing a key climate target. In Mexico: A climate scientist is voted president of an oil country. Now what?
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF DEFENSE POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries, like defense, equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other. Our defense reporting team—including Lara Seligman, Joe Gould, Paul McCleary, Connor O’Brien and Lee Hudson—is embedded with the market-moving legislative committees and agencies in Washington and across states, delivering unparalleled coverage of defense policy and the defense industry. We bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | | | | | A showcase of some of our best subscriber content.
| 
The USS Hornet is docked in Alameda, California. The decommissioned aircraft carrier hosted a climate intervention experiment. | Jeff Chiu/AP | A Northern California city council voted early Wednesday morning to cancel the nation’s first outdoor experiment into the potential to limit global warming by altering cloud behavior. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) on Wednesday said he will stop the state from adopting a California rule that would require all new vehicle sales to be zero-emission by 2035. New York has finalized power contracts that are more expensive than originally planned for two struggling offshore wind projects that are considered critical to reach the state’s climate goals. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
| | | | JOIN US ON 6/12 FOR A TALK ON THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY: As air travel soars again, policymakers and airlines are grappling with a series of contemporary challenges to the industry's future. Join POLITICO on June 12 for a topical and timely conversation with government leaders and aviation stakeholders about the state of the airline industry. From what passengers want to what airlines need amid the high demand for air traffic, workers and technology solutions. What can Washington do to ensure passengers and providers are equipped to fly right? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | | A message from Southern Environmental Law Center: Burning trees for energy devastates forests, harms the health of nearby communities, which are disproportionately Black and low-income, and makes climate change worse. An upcoming Treasury Department decision on whether the biomass industry should receive clean energy tax credits could significantly undermine President Biden’s climate agenda and environmental justice commitment. Ensuring tax credits go toward truly clean energy industries, such as solar, wind and storage will accelerate our energy transition, combat climate change and create stable jobs. Learn more here. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
