Op-ed: Don’t let the GOP kill residential solar

President Donald Trump ran on a platform of ushering a renaissance of domestic manufacturing, creating American jobs and reducing energy costs. The House budget bill, as passed this week, will do the opposite. The cuts to clean energy programs established by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a punishing blow to the future of the energy industry, and New York will be hit particularly hard if the bill becomes law.

One of the key provisions of the budget bill approved by the House GOP is the scrapping of IRA Section 25D, the residential solar credit, by the end of the year. Eliminating the 30% tax credit for New York City homeowners who opt to install residential solar will raise the price of solar installations by a third virtually overnight. The rise in cost will limit accessibility to solar and drive solar adoption down, eliminating jobs in the sector and putting businesses at risk.

Nationally, the residential solar industry is worth nearly $8 billion, and employs over 100,000 people. However, this does not account for jobs supported by residential solar, including manufacturing, supply chain logistics, warehousing, sales, and engineering. New Yorkers employed in the solar industry, about 15,000 strong, will be facing the possibility of seeing their jobs eliminated by the end of the year.