The case for renewing the solar tax credit | Opinion

Many of us have felt the jolt of rising electric bills in the last few months. In Pennsylvania, Peco, Met-Ed, and PPL all hiked their rates in December. In New Jersey, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, and PSE&G also recently raised rates, and in Delaware, Delmarva Power will raise rates as soon as it can.

We’re paying more and more each year for energy, and it hurts more in the months when we need it the most for heating and cooling.

The U.S. Senate has an opportunity to help homeowners break free from rising electricity rates and support an industry that employs hundreds of thousands while also helping our country meet its climate goals. That industry is solar energy — but its future is at risk.

Right now, the solar industry is growing thanks to a healthy tax credit. But unless senators take action, the solar tax credit will soon expire.

Today, the solar tax credit — a federal program that started in 2006 — pays back homeowners 26% of the total cost to install solar panels at home. At the end of this year, the solar tax credit is set to step down to 22%. In 2024, it will disappear altogether.

If the tax credit expires, it will hurt progress toward the goals for renewable energy set by the Biden administration and by states and cities that have set their own targets. New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland all have strong goals for deploying solar energy. Philadelphia aims to cover 39% of our city’s rooftops with solar panels by 2050.

Letting the solar tax credit lapse will also be a tremendous setback, not only for the growing solar industry, which employs more U.S. workers than coal and nuclear combined, but also for millions of Americans who aspire to save money with solar.

I’ve worked with scores of families who dreamed of getting out from under their utilities with clean energy they generate themselves. For these families, solar energy is a measure of freedom.

In 2018, my family was weighing whether it would make financial sense to lower our carbon footprint with solar on the roof of our South Philadelphia rowhouse. With the support of the solar tax credit, the numbers worked out. Four years later, we’ve insulated ourselves against rising rates and saved hundreds each year. It’s been so good that I wanted to get into the business.

The local company I work for, Orbit Energy & Power, has installed thousands of residential systems in the Philadelphia region over those same four years. The solar industry is expanding. Solar installers, electricians, roofers, office personnel, and sales professionals are in demand. These are jobs that can’t be outsourced to other countries.

» READ MORE: Investing in clean energy will add over 126,000 jobs in Pennsylvania | Opinion

In November of last year, the U.S. House passed the Build Back Better Act, which would extend the solar tax credit for 10 years, but the bill is stalled in the Senate. This extension would provide much-needed certainty for our industry, enabling even more job creation and greenhouse gas reduction.

The bill also has a “direct pay” provision, which means that homeowners with lower incomes who don’t owe much in taxes, or don’t owe anything, could take the whole credit in one year. This would bring equity to the program by helping more families share in the benefits of solar.

Clean energy is back on the table in Washington as senators discuss which pieces of Build Back Better to include in a new bill. As a Pennsylvanian, I urge Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey to support extending the solar tax credit for 10 years and adding direct pay to make it available to families with lower incomes. I hope readers will join me in asking lawmakers to support the growth these provisions will bring.

Let’s renew the solar tax credit, inject equity by including the direct pay provision, and help more families move toward energy independence so that we can get on with the business of lowering bills, creating jobs, and saving the planet.

David Scholnick is the director of public affairs at Orbit Energy & Power, where he works with families who want to install residential solar. dscholnick@orbitenergy.us