Why It Matters

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners Inc. (CIP) filed an amended first quarter lobbying disclosure on May 8, 2026, reporting $210,000 in in-house lobbying focused on energy tax credits and Treasury guidance. This effort reflects a continuing push by one of the world's largest renewable energy fund managers to shape the federal tax and regulatory environment for clean energy investment.

The company has structured major U.S. investments, including offshore wind projects, around the clean energy tax credit framework established by the Inflation Reduction Act. Treasury guidance determines how those credits are interpreted, claimed, and monetized. Legislative changes and shifting regulatory interpretations create real risk for projects already in service, under construction, or in planning. All this is central to the business model of a firm whose U.S. strategy depends heavily on tax equity financing and the policy environment around energy tax credits.

By the Numbers

This filing is an amendment to the first quarter 2026 in-house report, filed April 20, 2026. Both the original and the amendment report $210,000 in lobbying expenditures, with lobbyist Elissa Levin as the sole in-house filer. CIP also retains two outside firms this quarter:

  • Mindset Advocacy LLC reported $30,000 for first quarter 2026, focused on energy permitting reform and energy project development updates.
  • Capitol Tax Partners LLP reported $10,000 for first quarter 2026, focused on legislative and administrative services related to energy tax policy.

Combined, CIP's total disclosed lobbying spend across all three registrants for first quarter 2026 is $250,000. That figure has been consistent since the firm stood up its three-track lobbying operation in the second quarter of 2025.

Looking back across the past year, CIP's in-house filings alone total $1,050,000 across five disclosures. All were reported at $210,000 per quarter, beginning with the second quarter 2025 report. Prior to that, in-house filings ranged from $170,000 to $180,000 per quarter. The firm has had a consistent lobbying presence with Elissa Levin serving as the in-house lobbyist across all filings. Levin previously served as a legislative assistant to Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7) and as a staff assistant on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The Mindset Advocacy team has remained consistent across all quarters with Langston Emerson, Rick Dearborn, Zach Ostro, Sarah Alexander, and Charlie Schreiber. Capitol Tax Partners' team for this quarter includes Melissa Mueller, William Davis, and Tom West, a slight reduction from earlier quarters when Joe Mikrut was also listed.

The Agenda

The in-house lobbying disclosure reports activity on "energy tax credits and Treasury guidance" under the Energy/Nuclear issue code. Earlier filings from Mindset Advocacy referenced the "Big Beautiful Bill" and IRA energy tax provisions alongside energy permitting reform. Capitol Tax Partners' earlier filings referenced H.R. 1, the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill, as well as tax incentives for energy generation. The in-house filings have consistently centered on energy tax credits and Treasury guidance, with budget reconciliation appearing in filings through the fourth quarter of 2025 before dropping from the first quarter 2026 disclosures.

Broader Context

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, significantly altered the clean energy tax credit landscape, introducing accelerated repeal schedules for most renewable energy tax credits, tighter domestic content requirements, and new restrictions related to foreign entities of concern. New tax credit structures under Sections 48E and 45Y now govern projects that begin construction in 2025 and beyond, according to Baker Tilly.

Sen. Chuck Grassley stated in March 2026 that he had worked with the Treasury Department and IRS to produce "workable guidance that enabled the wind and solar industries to move forward with their projects," and warned that reversing it "would create regulatory uncertainty" and "discourage investment and delay energy development." In August 2025, Grassley had praised Treasury guidance as offering "a viable path forward for the wind and solar industries."

On the other side, Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, Chuck Schumer, and Ron Wyden called changes to IRS guidance "a blatant attempt to disqualify projects needed to build out our nation's clean energy infrastructure," arguing the changes would "raise energy prices and chill investment."

At an April 2026 Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Sen. Wyden noted that 21 House Republicans had signaled they want the technology-neutral clean energy tax credits to remain in place.

The Bottom Line

CIP has significant financial exposure to federal energy tax policy. It maintains a consistent and multi-track lobbying presence as the regulatory and legislative landscape around clean energy credits continues to shift.

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