Feb 5 (Reuters) - U.S. clean-energy companies are headed

to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to urge Republican lawmakers not to

kill lucrative tax credits contained in former President Joe

Biden's landmark climate change law.

Hundreds of representatives from firms in the solar, wind

and other renewable-energy sectors are meeting with members of

Congress from both parties to tout their role in creating jobs

and investment, lowering electricity costs and meeting soaring

power demand from data centers.

Republican areas have benefitted from the Biden

administration's Inflation Reduction Act since its enactment in

2022, with more than half of announced clean-energy, battery and

vehicle-manufacturing projects located in Republican

congressional districts.

Despite this, the clean-energy sector has been on high alert

since the election of President Donald Trump, whose first

executive orders prioritized unleashing U.S. fossil-fuel

production, paused federal wind projects and froze funding for

clean-energy projects from two Biden-era laws.

Trump has set his sights on scaling back the IRA, which

contains billions in tax credits to support the expansion of

clean-energy projects.

Some Republicans have introduced legislation to repeal parts

of the bill, though more than a dozen Republican House members

have urged party leadership to protect lucrative tax credits

that benefit their districts.

The Republican-led Congress could deploy a legislative

measure known as reconciliation to avoid relying on Democratic

votes. Biden used the same tactic to pass the IRA.

The trade groups behind the lobbying effort include the

solar industry's Solar Energy Industries Association, offshore

wind group Oceantic and the U.S. Green Building Council, among

others.

The industry is expected to meet with several Republicans

who signed a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson last year

expressing support for tax credits that have spurred investment

in projects and factories. The letter was led by Representative

Andrew Garbarino of New York.

More than 1,800 companies also signed letters to lawmakers

urging them to preserve critical incentives. They include French

clean energy project developer EDF Renewables, residential solar

company Sunnova and solar panel maker Qcells, a

division of Korea's Hanwha.

"Businesses have relied on these tax policies to plan

investments, hire workers, and change their product lines,"

dozens of companies wrote in a letter to Congressional

leadership.

"Business leaders have acknowledged that repeal will cause

many to eliminate staff or to move their business abroad all

together."