ITC Expiration Cost = 39K Jobs & $8.1B Economic Loss

As we approach the mid-year mark, the push to renew the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is reaching a critical moment. Most developers, construction lenders, and banks are beginning to put the brakes on new projects. That's because the ITC can only be claimed on systems that are in commercial operation before the expiration date of December 31.

As soon as next month, the solar industry will begin the slow and painful process of winding down--an inevitable result if the ITC is not renewed soon.

The solar industry has been pushing for an 8-year extension of the ITC. What's odd is that the proposal enjoys broad bipartisan support--renewable energy is a "cross the aisle" issue now, after all. Yet bill after bill this year (so many in fact that I've even lost track of them all) has failed to pass both the House and the Senate.

I've heard a hundred explanations for why this is the case. But frankly none of them make much sense. If you haven't read Tom Friedman's recent column about the issue called Dumb as We Wanna Be, I encourage you to read it now.

If you want some sharp insights on the hard costs of letting the ITC expire, take a look at the report prepared by Navigant on the Economic Impacts of the Tax Credit Expiration. The report explains in painstaking detail what will be lost if Washington just lets the ITC go: 39,400 solar jobs and $8.1B in economic activity.

As painful as those numbers are, they're not what worries me most. It's the damage such a slowdown will do to the progress we've made over the last 7 years in US solar. It's the damage to Wall Street's confidence that we and our industry colleagues have spent years helping to build. It's the damage that will be done to the already tattered reputation of our country in the eyes of the world in terms of environmental leadership.

If we can't do something as simple as this--how can we possibly hope to help the world address climate change where the issues and politics are far more complex and embedded?

A 6-year ITC extension bill (HR6049) just recently passed the House. If you want to do something, VoteSolar has set up a simple online tool that enables you to easily contact your Senator to show your support. Take a moment and let them know this is important.

Comments

[Scott Wallace]

Thank you for posting this article. Is is a shocking reminder at how our incompetent energy policy, since the 1980s, has been our biggest missed opportunity.