A Key Part of Biden’s Climate Law Was Built to Survive Trump. Now, the Test.

One of the most powerful parts of President Biden’s signature climate law was designed to attract support from such a wide array of industries that it would be hard for Congress to repeal.

Now, that theory is about to be tested.

This month, the federal government will begin offering lucrative tax credits to companies that build wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal or other new sources of electricity that don’t generate any of the greenhouse gases that are rapidly heating the planet.

While tax breaks for companies that build wind farms and solar panels have existed for years, these new credits can apply to a much wider set of technologies, including nuclear reactors, advanced geothermal plants, fusion plants, hydroelectric dams, novel types of batteries and much more. The so-called “technology neutral” clean electricity tax credits, which Congress passed as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, are projected to do more than any other policy in the coming years to reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“These policies are nothing short of an energy moon shot,” said Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the Treasury Department, which on Tuesday issued guidance for how companies can qualify for the credits.

But for the tax incentives to have an effect, they would have to survive the new Congress. The credits could cost more than $250 billion over the next decade, making them a prime target of Republicans who hope to eliminate much of Mr. Biden’s climate law in order to pay for tax cuts that President-elect Donald J. Trump has promised.

On Tuesday Mr. Trump railed against subsidies for clean energy and said “no windmills” would be built during his next administration. The president-elect has expressed particular hostility toward wind turbines, falsely claiming they are “driving the whales crazy,” “kill all the birds” and cause cancer.