On 25 March 2026, pv magazine USA published a long analysis article by a former Wood Mackenzie clean technology lead, titled “Envisioning IRA 2.0: Restoring US Energy Leadership”. The article argues that although the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) triggered an historic wave of clean energy investment (over USD 150 billion in announced manufacturing facilities), many of those investments are now at risk because key tax credits are scheduled to phase out between 2029 and 2031, while manufacturing facilities typically take 3 5 years to build and ramp up.

The article cites data: 2026 US solar installations are projected at 38 GW, wind at 18 GW, and storage at 12 GW, totalling 86 GW, directly or indirectly supporting over 3.4 million clean energy jobs. Without an extension of the tax credits, installations could drop by 15 20% annually from 2029 onwards. The article warns that Europe and Asia are courting downstream manufacturing projects away from the US through industrial policies. The author proposes four core elements of an “IRA 2.0”: (1) make clean energy tax credits permanent or at least extend them to 2040; (2) create a “Clean Energy Independence Bank” offering low interest loans directly to manufacturers; (3) establish a separate investment tax credit category for grid scale storage; (4) reform federal permitting to cut approval times for major transmission projects from over 10 years to less than 3 years. The article concludes that the post 2026 election Congress must act in early 2027, otherwise the US risks losing its hard won clean energy leadership.