How is the American Jobs Plan Affecting Solar?
What is the American Jobs Plan?
US president Joe Biden has reached a bipartisan agreement with democrat and republican senators on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan.
The American Jobs Plan is a new investment plan from President Biden and the White House, focusing on infrastructure, the core economy, climate, and job creation.
While recent stimulus plans focused on short-term responses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Jobs Plan is geared towards long-term recovery and rebuilding, and a competitive U.S. economy.
You can read it in full on the official White House website.
How does this affect the solar industry?
Originally the plan was set for $2 trillion in spending and was intended to directly boost the solar industry. Unfortunately, two notable omissions were struck from the plan in the final hours and are seen as highly disappointing to the solar industry:
- The plan has made compromises on clean energy, with the much called for 10-year extension of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) notably missing.
- The original plan also proposed a direct cash payment in lieu of the ITC which would have allowed solar developers to benefit directly from the tax credit, enabling projects with little or no taxable income to quickly monetize the credits, completing construction at a lower cost and, as result, creating jobs. This was unfortunately struck from the plan in the final hours of negotiation, as well.
Regardless, the infrastructure framework is seen as the first step towards the implementation of Biden’s wider American Jobs Plan and is seen as a positive move forward.
Reasons for optimism:
Under the agreed plan, renewable infrastructure investment, particularly in energy transmission and grid systems, will receive a $73 billion boost, which paves the way for greater renewable energy capacity moving forward.
- The plan will upgrade US “power infrastructure, including by building thousands of miles of new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewable energy, including through a new Grid Authority,” said a White House statement.
- In total, it calls for US $973 billion in spending over the next five years, with US $1.2 trillion proposed over the next eight, factoring in the federal government’s current baseline.
The infrastructure plan agreed upon “is the single largest investment in clean energy transmission in American history”, added the White House statement.
How will it be paid for?
The framework will be financed through a combination of taxes, corporate user fees, and “the macroeconomic impact of infrastructure investment”.
If you are interested in learning more about how solar can work for your needs, get a free quote here, email us at [email protected]olterra.com, or call or text 206-462-1103.
Author Bio:
Nate Brothers is a Solterra Solar Design Consultant and a passionate advocate for the environment. He earned a degree in Environmental Sustainability from Colorado Mountain College where he focused on understanding and implementing critical solutions for messy situations like climate change. Originally from Kansas, Nate fell in love with open spaces at an early age. He has spent his adult life chasing back country powder stashes and the robust white water of the great American west.
