The House of Representatives on July 3 passed the final version of a budget reconciliation bill that takes aim at solar and wind energy in favor of fossil fuels. The bill now on the president’s desk will end the residential solar tax credit at the end of this year and add new component restrictions to large-scale projects that begin construction after 2025.
There will likely be a mad dash for developers to start construction on solar projects by the end of the year to avoid supply chain restrictions. Read our Q&A with a Baker Tilly tax expert on the implications of these major changes.
Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA, issued the following statement in response to the bill’s passage:
“The bill being sent to the president’s desk today is a significant step backwards for our nation’s energy economy at a time when we can least afford it. In the face of rising energy costs, global instability, and growing demand for power, Congress has turned its back on the very industries that are adding the majority of the new electricity generating capacity to the grid.
“America is in the midst of an energy manufacturing boom, with new solar and storage factories opening across the country thanks to the forward-looking policy this law will upend. Now many of these brand new factories will be forced to shut down and lay off thousands of workers, gutting communities that were finally seeing the kind of industrial revival rural America needs and handing an untimely and strategic victory to China.
“While this bill avoided some very damaging provisions, it is deeply disappointing to see partisan politics outweigh practical pro-growth solutions that serve all Americans. Solar and storage are America’s best bet to lower energy costs, build long-term energy resilience, and break free from the grip of foreign energy dependence. It is especially disheartening to witness the total disregard for the thousands of small businesses in the residential solar sector that were given only months to reinvent themselves.
“Regardless of what happens in Washington in the coming months and years, markets will continue to drive outcomes. The solar and storage industry is resilient, and SEIA will keep fighting every day for smart, stable, business-friendly policies that deliver on authentic and true American energy independence,” she continued.
