A vote to extend the Investment Tax Credit for 5 more years

Breaking Now– Big news for all solar companies in the United States, as well as the 200,000 employed in the solar industry coming out of Washington D.C. today. The renewal, or extension, of the ITC (Investment Tax Credit) has been added to the omnibus appropriations bill 2016 filed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Currently, the ITC provides a 30% federal tax credit for both residential (under section 25D) and commercial (under section 48) properties. This tax credit is currently set to expire on Dec. 31, 2016. The current ITC is responsible for a 1600% growth increase in residential and commercial solar installation. It also helps keep the cost of solar down and drives up technological innovation. Solar employment has also grown by around 86% just in the last 4 years which is nearly 20 times the growth rate in overall employment in the United States. It’s easy to see why a proposed 5-year extension would be important not just to the solar industry, but renewable energy as a whole.

A proposed 5-year extension of the ITC would offer the same 30% tax break, but would scale down slightly in years 4 and 5. The proposed tax discount schedule would go as follows:

• 2017 – 30%
• 2018 – 30%
• 2019 – 30%
• 2020 – 26%
• 2021 – 22%

The official vote on the omnibus appropriations bill would happen tomorrow (Thursday).

Here is what is potentially is to gain by having this bill pass, and a continuation of the ITC past 2016:

• The solar industry would generate enough electricity to power 19 million homes
• Solar would account for 3.5% of U.S. electricity generation – up from just 0.1% in 2010
• Every year, solar power would offset 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, equivalent to shuttering 26 coal-fired power plants or taking 20 million cars off the roads

But what you can do now is to let your thoughts known to your congressman or congresswoman that you would like to see this bill passed. You can do this by signing a quick form that will go directly to your Representative or Senator based on the address you enter.

CLICK HERE to support the ITC extension.

More information about the proposed extension of the credit can be found on the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) website at www.SEIA.org

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