With some solar power tax breaks expiring, Georgians rush to catch the sun
When it came time for Nathan Shaffer to replace his roof this year, he knew he wanted to keep solar panels like the ones he installed in 2017 on top of his Decatur home.
Hooked on the magic of watching the mini-power plant on his roof charge his electric vehicles, Shaffer this summer priced out what it would cost to upgrade to more efficient, modern panels. As he did, Republicans in Congress made a big change in July to federal solar incentives when they passed President Donald Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The sprawling law extended corporate and individual tax cuts and boosted defense spending. But it also took an ax to a host of clean energy incentives, including a 30% federal tax break for residential rooftop solar systems. Instead of starting to phase out at the end of 2032, the tax credit — known as 25D — will now go away Dec. 31.
With $6,000 to $7,000 in potential savings set to vanish next year, Shaffer decided to install new panels before the credits expired.
He is not alone.
Residential solar installers say they’re seeing a crush of customers trying to cash in on savings before time runs out, with some companies hiring and boosting hours for a sprint they expect to last through the final hours of this year.
“The rest of the year is, ‘Who can work Saturdays?’” said Russell Seifert, president and founder of Creative Solar USA, a Georgia-based residential and commercial solar installer.
The surge has been good for business, but rooftop solar’s long-term outlook in Georgia is cloudy.
The cost of labor and materials, like the metal racks solar panels are mounted on, have all gone up thanks to stubborn inflation and Trump’s tariffs, installers say. Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency also canceled $7 billion in grants meant to help low-income residents install rooftop solar at no cost, including $156 million for a program in Georgia. Several groups and states have sued to claw back that money.
Still, some like Pearson Kilgore, president of Suncatcher of Atlanta, the oldest solar company in Georgia founded in 1983, believe the industry will manage to adapt.
“I think we might have a couple of bumpy years but in the long run, I think we’ll be OK,” he said.
Riding the ‘solarcoaster’
Rooftop solar companies are no strangers to disruption. In fact, the industry has a name for the changes in policy they’ve long faced: the “solarcoaster.”
Shifting incentives and billing rules from the federal government down to local utilities have at times led solar demand to rise and fall. And though domestic manufacturing is growing, businesses have for years relied heavily on imported panels — whose availability and cost are subject to the whims of the party in power in Washington.
If there’s been one relative constant, it’s been the tax breaks offered by the federal government for residential solar systems.
The first tax credits were created in 1978, when then-President Jimmy Carter was in the White House. Those expired in the mid-1980s, only to be brought back in 2005 under then-President George W. Bush. Their value has gone up and down at times, but the savings have remained in some form since then — until now.
The “one big, beautiful bill” moved the expiration date of the full, 30% tax credit up to Dec. 31, seven years earlier than previously scheduled.
“It’s definitely a new era for the rooftop solar industry, and we’re working hard to help that sector and those businesses transition into the post-25D (tax credit) world,” Sean Gallagher, senior vice president of policy for the Solar Energy Industries Association, said.
Until then, installers and utilities say they are slammed with customers are acting now to realize their solar dreams before the tax savings disappear.
Kilgore from Suncatcher says his office‘s whiteboard for scheduling installations is packed “top to bottom” through the end of the year.
“It’s almost like a jigsaw puzzle, trying to figure out how we can fit everything in,” he said.
Georgia Power, which must tie new solar systems into its electric grid, also said it has seen a near doubling of residential solar interconnection requests since July 4, when the new law was signed. The company says it’s processing applications as “quickly as possible … given the time constraints on the tax credit expiration.”
Guidance from the Internal Revenue Service indicates solar systems must be installed by Dec. 31 to be eligible for the tax savings. At this point, Kilgore and Seifert from Creative Solar USA say they are having to tell some customers they might not be able to get their panels in place before the deadline.
Silver linings?
What will the rooftop solar market look like next year? Most in and around the industry expect there will be a dip in demand.
Gallagher from SEIA said the industry trade group expects residential solar installations in 2030 will be 33% lower than they would have been with the tax credits in place. Seifert said he expects even more of a drop off, more like 60% to 70%.
That type of a slowdown could put some installers out of business, Gallagher said.
Still, those in the industry believe rooftop solar will survive and that there could be silver linings from the phase out.
Depending on the size of the installation, a rooftop solar system can cost $20,000 or more, the type of upfront investment most households can’t make. Without thousands in tax savings available, Gallagher said companies will have to find ways to improve efficiency and lower costs, which could be good for the industry in the long run.
Other inherent benefits of solar aren’t going away.
Solar generates electricity without producing any greenhouse gas emissions. In an era of rising global temperatures, that positive climate impact of appeals to customers like Shaffer.
Paired with an on-site battery storage system, solar can provide households resilience to power outages. And with power bills rising in Georgia and beyond, solar offers customers a way to rein in those costs, Gallagher said.
“Putting solar on the roof is one way to take some meaningful control over that,” Gallagher said.
A note of disclosure
This coverage is supported by a partnership with Green South Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. You can learn more and support our climate reporting by donating at AJC.com/donate/climate.
About the Author
Drew Kann is a reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering climate change and environmental issues. His passion is for stories that capture how humans are responding to a changing environment. He is a proud graduate of the University of Georgia and Northwestern University, and prior to joining the AJC, he held various roles at CNN.
