Louisville, KY — June 30, 2026 — Walker Blue, LLC, an engineering-led tax advisory firm specializing in clean energy and energy-efficiency incentives, today voiced strong support for extending Section 179D, the Energy Efficient Commercial Building Deduction, and Section 45L, the New Energy Efficient Home Credit, beyond their scheduled expiration today.

The statement follows a June 29 letter from Reps. Dave Min and Johnny Olszewski Jr., co-chairs of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition's Building Resilient Housing Task Force. The letter urges House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith and Ranking Member Richard Neal to preserve the incentives, warning that their lapse would remove proven tools that help lower energy costs for American families and businesses while supporting domestic manufacturing and construction jobs.

“We’re hearing the urgency directly from our clients — school districts, multifamily developers, commercial building owners, and public agencies that have spent the past year documenting energy-efficient improvements because 179D and 45L made the economics work,” said Josh Howes, CEO of Walker Blue.

“Letting these provisions expire does not just end a tax benefit on paper. It removes a financing tool that helps real projects move forward at a time when utility bills and construction costs are already straining families, businesses, and public budgets.”

The SEEC letter notes that residential electricity prices have risen more than 18% nationally since January 2025 and that roughly one in six U.S. households are behind on energy bills. It highlights that HVAC, lighting, and building-envelope improvements enabled by 179D and 45L can save the average household about $500 per year on utility costs, while commercial building owners can claim up to $5.81 per square foot for qualifying efficiency upgrades. The letter also underscores the incentives’ role in supporting American manufacturing jobs and global competitiveness in building technologies.

Walker Blue’s work sits at the intersection of engineering and tax compliance. The firm provides energy modeling, technical certifications, and prevailing wage and apprenticeship documentation that underpin 179D deductions and 45L credits. Over the past year the firm has supported K-12 school districts, housing authorities, non-profits, and commercial developers whose capital plans and project timelines were built around the continued availability of these incentives.

“A lapse creates immediate uncertainty for projects already in design, financing, or construction,” Howes said. “These are mature, well-understood provisions with established certification pathways. They are practical tools that turn energy-efficient concepts into completed buildings.”

The Task Force letter observes that the House-passed version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act did not include a 179D sunset and that an extension would, in part, correct Senate language signed into law. It points to pending legislation, including Rep. Mike Thompson’s Energy Independence and Affordability Act and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s American Energy Dominance Act, as vehicles for extending the incentives.

Walker Blue supports a clean, timely extension of both Section 179D and Section 45L. At a moment of rising energy costs and pressure on housing and public-sector budgets, these incentives remain among the most direct, bipartisan tools available to encourage efficient buildings, lower long-term operating costs, and support American workers in the building trades.

“Energy efficiency should be straightforward bipartisan ground,” Howes said. “Lower energy bills, stronger buildings, better schools, and good construction jobs are outcomes that enjoy broad support. Congress should act before the current deadline disrupts projects already moving through the market.”

Walker Blue will continue to help clients navigate 179D and 45L compliance and documentation requirements while advocating for stable, predictable tax policy that supports energy-efficient construction nationwide.

About Walker Blue, LLC

Walker Blue is an engineering-led tax advisory firm specializing in clean energy and energy-efficiency tax incentives, including Investment Tax Credit cost basis and beginning-of-construction studies, domestic content analysis, prevailing wage and apprenticeship compliance, Section 179D, Section 45L, Section 30C, and elective pay structuring under Section 6417. The firm serves tax-exempt and private-sector clients across energy, real estate, education, healthcare, manufacturing, and public sectors. Learn more at walker-blue.com.