Two dozen solar industry executives are in Washington this week urging Congress to pass critical clean energy policies in budget reconciliation legislation. This lobbying blitz comes in the wake of President Biden’s executive actions that paused new solar tariffs for 24 months and invoked the Defense Production Act to help support domestic clean energy manufacturing.
“Thanks to President Biden’s decision to waive tariffs for 24 months, companies like SOLV Energy are back in the business of creating jobs and greenlighting projects across the country,” said George Hershman, CEO of SOLV Energy and SEIA board chair. “The industry is out in force this week asking Congress to continue this momentum by passing clean energy tax credits so we can strengthen American manufacturing and speed clean energy deployment for the long haul.”
The executives are urging Congress to build on President Biden’s actions by passing a suite of clean energy incentives, including a long-term extension of the solar ITC with direct pay and Senator Ossoff’s Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act.
“By taking decisive action to mute harmful trade impacts, the President opened the door for a potential clean energy boom and a renaissance in American solar manufacturing,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “Solar business leaders are in town to demonstrate to lawmakers the type of investments and economic growth that can come if Congress acts. As the inflation pinch tightens, these are common-sense steps that can lower energy costs for all Americans.”
Solar executives are meeting with bipartisan lawmakers in the House and Senate as well as administration officials to convey the urgency for action as climate impacts worsen and the clean energy sector continues to face supply challenges. Solar deployment forecasts for 2022 were cut in half over the last nine months and the window for bold policy is closing.
Congress can boost U.S. national security, strengthen America’s energy independence and lower costs for families if it passes policies to incentivize clean energy deployment and domestic manufacturing.
SEIA has set bold targets to grow domestic solar manufacturing capacity to 50 gigawatts and for solar to reach 30% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030. The solar industry will fiercely advocate throughout the summer for legislation to reach these targets.
News item from SEIA
“SEIA has set bold targets to grow domestic solar manufacturing capacity to 50 gigawatts and for solar to reach 30% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030. The solar industry will fiercely advocate throughout the summer for legislation to reach these targets.”
There’s been talk in the past of making the ITC permanent at 25% and this hasn’t happened. Then there has been talk of making the ITC a (multi-year) Federal tax writeoff as some folks are “said” to not have enough Federal tax outstanding in a one year period to take the full 25% ITC.
Since the NREL Lidar study in 2016 it was determined the U.S. has about 69 million solar PV viable roofs. (IF) one can get 6.8kWp solar PV array, about 400 square feet of roof space on 69 million roofs, with a conservative estimate of an average 4 sun hours a day, this would generate right around 1.9TWh a day (1900GWh). (IF) all of these systems had a 20kWh smart ESS, one could store on average 1.1TWh a day ’round trip’ energy to be time shifted and used in the afternoon or early evening hours. This amount of distributed solar PV and energy storage would represent much more than 30% of the supplied electricity.