Extension of Renewable Energy Tax Credits Brightens Solar Prospects
The extension of the solar credit should result in billions in new investment and dozens of gigawatts of new installations.
The U.S. renewable energy industry got a welcome boost when Congress included a five-year extension of the investment tax credit for solar and wind power projects in the recent omnibus appropriations bill. Under the new program, the 30 percent solar tax credit will extend through 2019 and then decline gradually to 10 percent in 2022. After 2022 the credit will be eliminated for residential solar installations and will continue at 10 percent for commercial ones. The wind credit will apply to projects that have come online since the start of this year and will continue through 2019, gradually diminishing each year, before going away in 2020.