On February 26, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) released his long-awaited tax reform discussion draft, the Tax Reform Act of 2014. To achieve his goal of lower individual and corporate tax rates, Chairman Camp proposes eliminating a number of popular tax provisions, many of which are energy-related. Fossil fuel, nuclear, biofuel, and renewable energy sectors all lose key tax incentives. While the draft preserves the valuable intangible drilling costs deduction, which allows oil exploration and production companies to write off various expenses, Chairman Camp proposes eliminating both "last-in, first-out" accounting rules that lower the taxable value of stored inventory and the percentage depletion deduction for oil and gas wells. The proposal eliminates the Section 199 domestic manufacturing incentive, but it does so for all industries, not just the oil and gas industry.

The renewable energy sector is hit hard under the proposal, especially when compared with the tax reform draft then-Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus released a few months ago. Traditional energy companies with large revenues might benefit from lower corporate rates, even at the cost of various useful deductions or credits. Renewable energy companies with smaller tax appetites benefit less, relative to other industries, from lower corporate tax rates. The renewable industry currently depends on tax credits and accelerated depreciation to finance the commercialization of new technologies, so the elimination of these provisions would make renewable energy financing more difficult.