Florida solar industry panics as Congress tries to impose new taxes

Florida’s solar industry came to life as lawmakers in Washington worked to attack parts of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Building” to cut clean energy programs. Companies have suspended new investments. Small business owners gathered on Capitol Hill in hopes of getting rid of the worst.

However, this weekend, the US Senate unveiled a new language that caused panic.

The bill does not only rapidly roll back major tax credits. This includes ending 25D credits at the end of the year, which will help homeowners cover the costs of rooftop panels. It also places a new tax on all new solar and wind projects that will be online after 2027 unless they follow the requirements to unlock supply chains from China, which experts say are confusing and perhaps unachievable.

The bill is not yet final and these new changes say they don’t agree with them, so these new changes could be reversed. But as lawmakers continue their path through proposed amendments, the bill is marching towards passage. Republicans have set a goal of passing it by Friday for their July 4th holiday.

“It’s sad news that we’re aware of losing our jobs,” says Caleb Quaid, president of Tampa Quaid, called Regeneration Shift, which helps us take advantage of the clean energy tax savings. “And it’s going to cause a lot of harm for people who care about clean energy for reasons other than work.”

As Florida enters the hottest month of electricity bills, the potential timing of the bill’s passage is far too clear about why residents can access affordable clean energy, solar supporters say. Last year, regulators approved a base rate hike for two customers, Duke Energy and Tampa Electric, the state’s three largest utility companies. The third Florida Power & Light is seeking a historic hike this year at the base rate, a key component of your electricity bill.

Bil Johnson, CEO of Sarasota’s Solar Company Brilliant Harvest and board chair of the statewide solar industry lobbying group, said the bill would “put a brake” on Florida’s momentum as solar fell apart.

“This was a direct hit for small businesses, contractors and working families,” Johnson said in a statement. “When the bulk of Florida’s energy comes from out of state, energy prices rise and families are looking for ways to save money and strengthen their homes against increased hurricane risk, the bill becomes difficult and expensive for everyday Floridians to control the future of energy.”

Loling the science of climate change, Trump has pledged to withdraw his clean energy policy in support of promoting fossil fuels. He posted on social media in June, “Energy should not require subsidies!”

One big beautiful bill law rollback is designed to offset tax cuts that are beneficial to wealthy Americans and businesses.

Martin Rogers, general manager of the North American business at Solar Tech Giant Solaredge, said the Israel-based company has moved most of its manufacturing operations to the US due to clean energy tax incentives created by the Inflation Reduction Act. These moves included opening a factory in Seminole last year. There, the company partnered with Jabil to produce components for its solar panel system. The Pinellas County facility employs around 800 people, Rogers said.

“We invested a lot of money in incentive programs that were guaranteed to last,” he told the Tampa Bay Times in an interview. “If demand changes dramatically, any company must look at its footprint and future expansion plans.”

Rogers said all the uncertainty is curbing many companies.

“The unknown is the most difficult part right now,” he said. “I think some of the mid-sized or small players will probably decide that they don’t want to be in the industry anymore.”

In May, the company cancelled its new factories and clean energy projects worth around $1.4 billion in new factories and clean energy projects across the country, according to E2, a clean energy business advocacy group. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, a national lobbying organization, if the bill passes as is, nine Florida factories risk closing or coming online if the bill passes as is.

In addition to reducing solar, the bill is ready to close the electric vehicle tax credit on September 30th.

Potential damage to clean energy is so pronounced that it has attracted attention even among people outside of the industry. Neil Bradley, chief policy officer of the US Chamber of Commerce, posted his critique on X.

“Overall, the Senate has produced a strong and growing bill,” he writes. “That being said, energy production is by no means a good policy, whether it’s oil and gas or in this case renewable energy. Electricity demand is set to see enormous growth, and this tax will raise prices.”

Steve Bratherford, president and owner of Tampa Bay Solar, said he had gathered with other business owners for the rally more than two weeks ago to buy a plane ticket to Washington. Some of them met with Senator Ashley Moody, Rutherford said, but he is already worried about the lawmakers’ opinions on the bill.

“It’s baffling from that perspective. Are we really looking for energy independence in this country, or are we trying to empower the utilities to essentially keep the country in debt?” Rutherford said. His Tampa company employs 42 people, he said, many of whom are military veterans.

“We don’t have enough supporters on our behalf, seeing the impact it will have on our state and our country’s work.”

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