Executives and investors in a solar company showered Democrats with cash and lobbied on President Joe Biden’s signature climate bill before emerging as one of the law’s biggest beneficiaries, according to the Associated Press.
First Solar’s executives and investors cumulatively donated at least $2 million to Democrats in the 2020 election cycle, including $1.5 million to boost Biden’s push to win the presidency, before the company spent $2.8 million lobbying the Biden administration and Congress on key green energy policies, according to the AP. Less than two years after the the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Biden’s signature climate legislation, became law in August 2022, First Solar has emerged as one of the bill’s biggest winners, while its investors and executives have reaped a massive windfall thanks to the law’s expansive subsidies for the solar industry.
In the time since the law came into effect, First Solar’s stock has doubled in value as it is poised to take advantage of federal tax credits and subsidies that could be worth as much as $10 billion over 10 years, according to the AP. First Solar’s boost from the IRA has also been enormously profitable for the company’s small group of major investors, a list that includes Democratic donors.