Senate field hearing: tariffs and proposed tax-rollbacks cloud Massachusetts clean‑energy small businesses and workforce

Senator Edward J. Markey, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, convened a field hearing at Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology to examine threats to the clean‑energy small‑business ecosystem, saying the sector "supports more than 200,000 jobs, an 80% increase, since 2010."

The hearing brought together industry and education leaders who said federal tariff actions and possible rollbacks of tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act are creating immediate uncertainty that is slowing projects, chilling investment and forcing some employers to curb hiring. "These increased costs result in reduced competitiveness, slower innovation, and financial strain," said Josh Aviv, founder and CEO of Spark Charge.

Emily Reichert, chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), summarized state data showing the industry’s scale: "There are over 7,500 clean energy businesses in Massachusetts, and 58% of clean energy businesses in Massachusetts are small businesses with 10 or fewer workers." She told the committee the sector accounts for roughly 115,000 direct clean‑energy workers and a total of about 233,427 direct, indirect and induced jobs when supply‑chain and spending effects are included.

Panelists described several mechanisms by which federal policy is affecting local…