The "Big Beautiful Bill" advanced by Republicans in Congress and supported by President Donald Trump is set to cut clean energy tax credits, which will likely hurt the solar and wind industries. The bill takes aim at renewables, including phasing out tax credits for utility-scale solar and wind, with the residential solar credit being cut sooner.

Impact on Residential Solar

The bill kills a 30% tax credit for rooftop residential solar by the end of the year, which was extended into the next decade by the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act. This change will likely mean laying off 50 to 55 workers at Southern Energy Management, according to Etheridge. He called the elimination of residential tax credits a "bait and switch."

Industry Reaction

Bob Keefe, executive director of E2, a business group that advocates for pro-environment policies, said the GOP-backed bill will likely reverse the sector's growth and eliminate jobs. Adam Michel, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, doubted many clean energy companies would go out of business but said they would be "right sized for the market."

Legislative Developments

The Senate passed the bill on Tuesday, removing a tax on some wind and solar projects and giving utility-scale projects time to begin construction before phasing out tax credits. The House of Representatives passed the bill on Thursday, ahead of a White House-imposed deadline. President Trump has been openly hostile to renewables, slamming solar farms as "ugly as hell" in a recent interview. The bill's passage marks a significant shift in energy policy, favoring fossil fuels over renewable energy sources, and its effects on the clean energy industry will be closely watched in the coming months.

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