< People are rushing to install solar panels before Trump becomes president

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The solar power industry is about to take its rapid growth and find out what happens with a skeptical new president and Congress. Some homeowners are rushing to install panels on the roofs while they can. NPR's Jeff Brady reports.

JEFF BRADY, BYLINE: In the Boston suburbs, Jorge Solares decided last summer to install solar panels on his house, both for the environment and to save money.

JORGE SOLARES: We have a brand new baby, and we're hoping to make that investment. So at some point, we wouldn't have to pay electricity and focus on her spending.

BRADY: Solares expects the panels will reduce his electric bill and pay for themselves in five or six years. It took a few months for inspections, permits and installing the panels. Then Donald Trump won the election.

SOLARES: Looking ahead, I just don't know what to expect from the next administration.

BRADY: During the campaign, Trump vowed to rescind unspent funds under President Biden's climate-focused Inflation Reduction Act. It's not clear yet what that could mean. Trump's campaign didn't respond to an interview request. Currently, there's a 30% federal tax credit for rooftop solar. That saved Solares $8,000.

SOLARES: Since we are spending so much money on this, the federal credit was just the way for us to get it. We needed that. Otherwise, it's just too expensive.

BRADY: Given uncertainty about the future of the tax credit, Solares pushed the installer to get the panels hooked up before the end of 2024 to ensure he can claim the credit on last year's taxes. Near Jacksonville, Florida, Jeff Beardsley says because of uncertainty over the tax credit, he reached a different conclusion.

JEFF BEARDSLEY: A big part of me wanted to lean toward solar.

BRADY: He was deliberating between installing solar panels plus batteries or a gas generator to keep power on in his house after a hurricane.

BEARDSLEY: I certainly liked being able to generate my own power from the sun. You know, that's kind of cool from a sustainability perspective.

BRADY: Solar power is more climate-friendly than a fossil fuel generator, which releases climate-warming greenhouse gases. But Beardsley couldn't get panels operating by the end of the year, and potentially losing the 30% tax credit prompted him to choose the gas generator. Companies that install solar panels say this uncertainty is affecting their business.

BRADY: How are you?

DOUG EDWARDS: Hey, all right.

BRADY: Good to meet you in person.

EDWARDS: Yes, same to you.

BRADY: Thanks for doing this.

In the Philadelphia suburbs, Doug Edwards leads me to the warehouse for his company Exact Solar.

EDWARDS: As you can see, we are packed to the gills here.

BRADY: He's stocked up on solar panels because of another uncertainty - he's worried Trump will raise tariffs on imported panels. If that happens quickly between when a job is bid and when it's finished, that could make a project unprofitable. By stocking up, Edwards has locked in panel prices for future bids. Beyond that, Edward says he made business plans, assuming current incentives would be in place for a decade.

EDWARDS: We've almost tripled in size in the last few years. All local hiring, all local team members, and we're just hopeful that we won't have to slow that down or have that disrupted in a major way.

BRADY: Solar industry trade groups are focused on policies aligned with Republicans, boosting domestic manufacturing, limiting imports, and creating jobs. Stephen Irvin, with Amicus Solar Cooperative, makes another point that it's a mistake to see solar power as more aligned with Democrats.

STEPHEN IRVIN: And our companies and our membership are spread across red and blue districts. We've got multiple members in Republican districts. So solar is not just a democratic issue, it's an American issue.

BRADY: The solar industry hopes President Trump and Republicans in Congress will come to see it that way, too, and leave subsidies in place that encourage more homeowners to install solar power.

Jeff Brady, NPR News.

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