A teetering U.S. residential solar industry may now be on the brink of collapse. Faced by macroeconomic challenges and shifting sands of state and federal policies, an industry once defined by double-digit growth in installations is experiencing steep declines – and the latest draft of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act makes things far worse.
The latest draft of the bill is bad all-around for clean energy, but it is particularly damaging to residential solar, cutting federal tax credits far sooner than expected.
Residential solar installations declined 31% in 2024. Over the last year, industry titans like SunPower, Sunnova, and Mosaic Solar have filed for bankruptcy.
The industry historically has leaned on the value proposition of lowering customer electricity bills and providing predictable costs for the long-term. However, that value has been increasingly difficult to provide.
Currently living in the sunniest city in the world, but had to pass on solar panels. Choices are to either buy outright or lease. The lease option is predatory as hell, but the cost of buying and maintaining outweighs the eventual savings because the power company monopoly keeps juking credits. American fuckery strikes again.
BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world 1 month ago
So to summarise the challenges the industry is facing:
To call this “macro economic” issues is bizarre. All of this is due to government policy and actions. It’s also notable that the rest of the world’s solar industry is not collapsing. Trump.and the republicans are selling out US consumers to prop up the oil industry and tax cuts for the rich.
Squizzy@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Its not bizzare if you take the view that America is a shit hole with spineless media, propping up shameless leaders put their by a borderline retarded electorate.
shalafi@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Trump wasn’t in office. Those bullet points will make things even worse, but other factors preceded Trump.
Squizzy@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Like a previous Trump adminstration?
I dont know the story here but he definitely was here before 2024 with bug spastic energy.