On our wish list of things we hope for this holiday season is more support for the booming solar industry -- and it turns out that members of Congress are hoping for the exact same thing, too!
Last week, a group of 12 members of Congress signed a bipartisan letter asking Speaker Paul Ryan and Leader Nancy Pelosi to consider several key priorities related to the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) as they finalize a new extension package for clean energy incentives at the end of this year.
Since the implementation of the solar Investment Tax Credit (a key clean-energy incentive up for extension) in 2006, the cost to install solar has dropped by more than 73 percent, upwards of 170,000 solar jobs have been created, and $66 billion has been invested in solar installations nationwide.
With inspiring numbers like this, the ITC has been repeatedly acknowledged as invaluable to the American economy and a boon to clean energy development. We need to keep this momentum going. As the letter points out, "Failure to extend the ITC is projected to cause a 71% drop in solar deployments and cost 100,000 American jobs." However, "If the ITC were extended long-term, the solar industry would produce enough electricity to power 19 million homes by the end of 2022."
Solar energy is now competitive with dirty fossil fuels in many states, enjoys widespread public support, and protects our land, air, water, and climate from dangerous pollution. That’s certainly something we hope to get more of this holiday season -- and we hope that Congress will deliver!