Trump hates Biden's climate legislation. His partners make money from it through Reuters

(Removes reference to Oxy CEO attending April fundraiser in OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM section)

By Valerie Volcovici and Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump has promised that he will end all subsidies to US President Joe Biden if he is elected. But many of Trump's allies are benefiting from massive investments in solar power, electric cars, carbon capture, hydrogen and other clean energy technologies.

Reuters has found at least seven close Trump associates and fundraisers, or firms they manage, have held hundreds of millions of dollars from companies that benefit the most from tax breaks included in the Inflation Reduction Act, the climate law signed by Biden.

They include Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner; his former ambassador to China and continued friend Terry Branstad; and companies owned by informal energy consultant and oil magnate Harold Hamm and energy developer Howard Lutnick.

Major oil companies such as Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:) and Power Transfer (NYSE:) , whose CEOs held a May fundraiser in Houston for the Trump and Hamm campaigns, and are holding large sums of money in projects that may only work if Biden's clean tax credits survive.

And Tesla (NASDAQ: ), whose founder and CEO Elon Musk has been promoting the Trump campaign, is also a big beneficiary of the IRA's EV and solar credits.

Together, these individuals and companies hold billions of dollars in investments eligible for IRA tax credits and stand to lose more if Trump is able to fulfill his promise to roll back Biden's climate legislation, according to a Reuters report.

The investment is important because it increases the likelihood that some of Trump's allies will ask him to preserve aspects of Biden's climate law if he wins the November election against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. That would add influential voices to some trade groups and lawmakers who have already pushed for some IRA funding.

None of the people or companies identified by Reuters were willing to comment on whether they would intervene to save parts of the IRA.

For now, Trump's intentions are clear.

“My plan will end the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam, and withdraw all unused funds under the Anti-Inflation Act under a false name,” Trump said as he unveiled parts of his economic policy platform in a speech in September.

Trump's top campaign adviser Brian Hughes told Reuters that comprehensive IRA rollback remains a top priority if he wins the Nov. 5 election, arguing that the package has contributed to inflation and widened the deficit.

Repealing any part of the IRA would require an act of Congress.

A group of 18 Republican lawmakers representing states that have attracted IRA-linked investments sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson in August urging him to repeal the entire IRA if the party wins control of the House and Senate.

The White House said the IRA created more than 330,000 jobs and ending it would hurt investments made in Republican states.

“By some estimates, most of this investment is in red and purple states,” White House spokesman Angelo Hernandez said.

The Biden administration is already working to provide most of the IRA grants, but the law's tax credits are expected to continue for years.

Some investors and companies involved in clean energy projects are hopeful that Trump's campaign will be successful, should he win in November.

“Innovators and the energy companies we work with want policy predictability. They're making hundreds of millions in investments because of the IRA,” said Jeremy Harrell, CEO of Washington-based clean energy organization ClearPath.

Frank Wolak, president of the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association, said it will be important for Congress to protect the tax credits if Trump wins the election.

“We're just going to do hard teaching about the IRA to our congressional partners,” he said.

TWO AND IRA BENEFITS

– MOSES

Trump's son-in-law and former presidential adviser, Kushner, private equity fund Affinity Partners in 2022 invested $200 million in Mosaic, a California-based provider of financing for solar energy and home efficiency improvements, according to investment data provider PitchBook.

Founded in 2011 as a crowdfunding startup, the company leveraged the 30% IRA tax credit for solar housing, as well as consumer incentives for solar panels, electric heat pumps and other efficiencies by raising consumer interest on its clean energy loans.

– SUMMIT CARBON SOLUTIONS

Oil magnate Harold Hamm has long been an energy adviser and political financier to Republican politicians, including Trump, and in May hosted a Houston fundraiser for Trump's third presidential campaign.

His company Continental Resources (NYSE:) in 2022 made a strategic investment of $250 million in Summit Carbon Solutions, a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project that will capture CO2 from ethanol plants and other industrial sources in the Midwest.

That project depends on the 45Q tax credit for various types of CCS, IRAs that have increased across the board.

Although the project was proposed before the IRA was signed into law in 2022, the enhanced tax credits could bring a $2.9 billion windfall to Summit investors, according to Jake Schwitzer, director of the policy group North Star Policy Action.

Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who served as Trump's ambassador to China and remains a staunch ally, is Summit's top policy adviser.

– TESLA

Tesla is a major beneficiary of IRA tax credits. The electric car and solar company called the package a “major boost to accelerating our mission” shortly after it was passed into law in 2022, despite CEO Musk's public animosity toward the funding.

– PETROLEUM EVENTS

Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub co-hosted Trump's Texas fundraiser in May, which helped raise tens of millions for the Trump campaign.

Occidental benefits from a 45Q carbon capture tax credit and is receiving nearly $1 billion in Department of Energy funding to build a direct air capture (DAC) hub to demonstrate that emerging technology at scale. The company applauded its strategy of marketing oil barrels called “net-zero”.

In May, Hollub said in a statement to Reuters: “I have been talking to policymakers on both sides of the aisle, and I will continue to talk to them, to express our support for 45Q, because it will help develop technologies like direct air capture that remove carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere and protect America's energy security.”

– TRANSFER OF POWER

Energy Transfer CEO Kelcy Warren is a longtime Trump supporter. The pipeline operator is also involved in projects supported by IRA tax credits, including two planned Louisiana CCS hubs, and a hydrogen hub in Texas that recently won just over $1 billion in Energy Department funding.

– CANTOR FITZGERALD

Trump's co-chairman Howard Lutnick is the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, a large financial services firm that has invested heavily in IRA beneficiary companies.

As co-chairman of the transition, Lutnick plays a key role in seeking high-level appointees to the Trump administration's potential staff, and has served as Trump's top dollar donor.

Among the companies Cantor Fitzgerald has invested in that have benefited the most from the IRA is Invenergy, a renewable energy company that is a senior member of the Cantor Fitzgerald Infrastructure Fund.

The infrastructure fund has more than $150 million in assets, according to a July press release, and its investment in Invenergy comprises 14.65% of the fund's total assets.

The fund is also heavily invested in NextEra Energy (NYSE: ), the largest US renewable energy developer.

Both companies have praised the IRA as useful for their businesses.

Cantor Fitzgerald has more than $13 billion in assets under management and offers a wide range of financial services.