Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably saw that Congress officially passed their Big Budget Bill last week and the President has now signed it into law. We knew all along that it would roll back renewable energy incentives– what we didn’t know before was how hard or how fast the impacts would hit.
We’re not here to sugar coat the reality that the bill will dramatically change the landscape in solar (and we’ll break that down further in the space below). But we also walked away with a certain degree of optimism and want to be clear about the opportunities that will continue even as we adjust into the next phase of renewable energy development in Appalachia and across the country.
Here are the nuts and bolts of what the bill does for commercial customers. Schools, municipalities, nonprofits, small businesses, and churches– we’re lookin’ at you.
- The headline is that Commercial projects installed by December 31, 2027, are eligible for the full 30% baseline tax credit, the 10% bonus credit for domestic content, and the 10% bonus credit for energy communities. Having this final window of opportunity is HUGE! It’s really good news for organizations that are early in their solar journey because you’ve got a minute to make a fully informed decision based on your particular needs and to still be installed ahead of the changes.
- Commercial projects that are safe harbored by July 4, 2026, will have through 2030 to be built and still receive full tax credits. This will sound familiar to folks who have already been working with us, but is a much more generous timeline than we were planning for. The safe harboring provision is particularly beneficial to organizations with an entire portfolio of projects that may take a while to develop (think county-wide school systems that are going solar under PPA agreements, for example).
- Nonprofits remain eligible for tax credits in the form of a direct payment through December 31, 2027, and are subject to the same safe harboring rules as other commercial projects. (Yay!)
- Batteries for commercial projects will continue receiving full tax credits through 2033. (Nice!)
- The FEOC Rules you may have heard about (the ones limiting the amount of components that could be manufactured in certain foreign countries) go into effect in January of 2026. But, we’ll be minimally impacted, because we’ve already been so committed to buying American manufactured products.
As for residential solar?
The big bummer: They’re officially pulling the plug on the 30% residential tax credit at the end of the year. In order for your home solar installation to qualify, your project will need to begin by December 31, 2025. If you’re looking to maximize your return on investment, you’ll want to get in soon.
The good news: Residential solar leasing remains healthy. And more importantly, solar is still the cheapest form of electricity on the planet. This means we can and will continue to help families in Appalachia save on energy bills through solar.
Is this the bill we would have chosen? No. But we can live with it. The benefits of solar are real. And around here, we’re used to being tested and tried by the powers that be.
Solar isn’t going anywhere and we’ve got plenty of tricks up our sleeves to make sure of it. Our commitment to making solar affordable to everyone in these beautiful hills and hollers of ours hasn’t changed. Whenever you’re ready, we’re still just a click or a phone call away.
