(Bloomberg) -- Senator Elizabeth Warren urged Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, saying the hikes have “completely tanked major renewable infrastructure projects across the country.”

In a letter, Warren of Massachusetts and fellow Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said rate increases have jeopardized the ability to create clean energy jobs and lower electricity costs that are part of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Even as demand for clean solar, wind, and electric power grows, “the Fed’s interest rates have stalled progress and hampered the country’s ability to combat the climate crisis,” the letter said.

The letter comes as the Fed meets this week to decide when and by how much to cut interest rates as inflation eases. Rising rates over the past two years have slowed the solar market and forced wind developers to pull out of some projects. 

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Clean energy executives, including Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, have blamed higher interest rates for sluggish sales of their products ranging from electric cars to solar panels. The rooftop solar industry, for example, has been hit hard by higher rates that have made it more expensive for consumers to finance panels and battery systems for their homes. Residential solar installations are forecast to grow 5% annually in 2024, down from nearly 40% year-over-year growth in 2023, according to BloombergNEF. 

A Federal Reserve spokesperson confirmed the letter had been received but offered no further comment.

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