Pennsylvania residents are working swiftly to have solar panels installed before benefits expire.
Pennsylvania solar installers are fighting to keep up with the demand for solar panel installation. Residents are making calls to have their roofs paneled before existing clean energy benefits expire.
Joe Morinville, president of EIS Solar, said in a recent interview, “It creates what we call a solar coaster. We’re going to be super busy and then we’re going to be super slow.”
Morinville said his company will stop taking on new home solar projects three months prior to the end of the year. They are currently working to finish existing projects before the December deadline.
On July 4th, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law. The legislation will cut renewable energy tax initiatives introduced by former President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
The Residential Clean Energy Credit reaches up to 30% of the cost of installing solar power to one’s home. This benefit expires at the end of the year, so residents are trying to get their tax break now.
Monica Carey, Pennsylvania program director for nonprofit Solar United Neighbors, said, “It felt like this bill was designed to hurt clean energy industries in a way that was cruel and unnecessary. It’s designed to kill solar energy.”
In 2023, 30,760 Pennsylvanians claimed the tax credit for installing solar. An estimated $150 million was saved on taxes.
Solar installers say a decrease in business and mass layoffs are expected following the signing of the bill into law earlier this month.
“In the short-term, it’s the best marketing imaginable. In the long term, it will be a different game,” said Aaron Nichols, policy specialist at Exact Solar.
Smaller installers are expecting a reduction in services offered without the tax incentives in place. “There’s no way [smaller installers are] going to stand to compete. It’s a travesty,” said Mr. Morinville.
Mr. Morinville predicts half of the smaller companies will go bankrupt, a quarter will be absorbed by larger corporations, and those remaining will have to focus solely on commercial installations rather than home solar projects.
According to the White House, the Big Beautiful Bill aims to empower small businesses and protect American innovation.
