According to a release from the Oregon Environmental Council, a wide array of groups with strong ties in clean and affordable energy sued the IRS and US Treasury Department due to new rules for tax credits that unfairly and illegally discriminate against wind and solar projects.

The case was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Dec.19 by a coalition of groups, which were led by the Oregon Environmental Council.

Other plaintiffs in the care are the following: Natural Resources Defense Council, Public Citizen, Hopi Utilities Corporation, Woven Energy, the City and County of San Francisco, and the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel.

“Oregon is counting on renewable energy. The Trump administration’s unfair decision to pull the rug out from under wind and solar projects will lock Oregon ratepayers into expensive, polluting energy sources,” noted Jana Gastellum, executive director of Oregon Environmental Council. 

She added that "Oregonians are already paying the price through devastating wildfires, toxic air pollution, and extreme weather. We can’t afford to go backwards—not when the climate crisis is worsening, and communities are suffering.”

The court filing said that the IRS got rid of a key pathway for companies to show that they have started construction and therefor qualify for federal tax credits prior to their expiration on Jul. 4, 2026.

It further noted that the Trump administration "unjustly and arbitrarily" singled out solar and wind projects for these more constraining as well as unprecedented eligibility rules.

The filing stated that the IRS guidance “unlawfully changes the tests for beginning of construction for only solar and wind facilities, without providing adequate reasons or data for treating those facilities differently from all other industries." This shift will probably "increase power prices, resulting in higher electric rates and bills for consumers.”

This lawsuit calls for the court to characterize the rules as arbitrary and capricious and to reject them, reinstating projects’ ability to depend on the previous rules that had been in place for over a decade.

The filing also said that this is part of a series of actions by the Trump administration to stop renewable energy. It listed 11 specific measures it has taken to stop or postpone wind or solar projects. Those actions are curbing much-needed new electricity generation and restricting supply while utility prices are soaring throughout the US.