What does the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ mean for wind, solar energy production?

With the sweep of a pen, President Trump put the renewable energy industry on notice

The one big, beautiful bill cuts down on the years solar and wind companies have to qualify for tax incentives

And a new executive order demands agencies rapidly eliminate the market distortions Trump says these subsidies cause

Energy Secretary Chris Wright has called these taxpayer incentives wasteful and counterproductive

But those four incentives say the start and stop for the industry is counterproductive too

It'll lead to less investment and less building, which will lead to higher prices. Back in 2022, lawmakers extended the decades-old subsidies for solar and wind with the Inflation Reduction Act

Under that law, energy companies had through 2032 to start construction to qualify for tax incentives

Once a qualified solar or wind farm was generating power, the company could claim a tax credit on that renewable power for the next 10 years

The one big beautiful bill, now law, significantly shortens that time frame

Construction projects that begin within the next 12 months have until 2030 to get online Everyone else must be generating power by the end of 2027 to cash in

Advanced Energy United's Harry Godfrey says the timeline will put some projects in a tough spot

That's because it can take two to four years of planning before construction even starts

You could have projects that are in active development right now that are not going to be able to commence construction here in the next year

the passage and enactment of this law did mean that those projects got cut off at the knees

But Michael Kaiser from the National Renewables Cooperative Organization says solar and wind have had more than enough help from taxpayers

These technologies have had 20 years worth of subsidies and it's time for them to stand on their own two feet if they're going to exist

Kaiser says he'd prefer to see federal investment shift to power sources

that can provide electricity around the clock. And as the industry faces this shift in government support

experts are split on how this could impact the energy grid and the price you pay to power your home

Search wind and solar to read Keaton Peters' entire story at sand.com or on the SAN app

For Straight Air News, I'm Simone Del Rosario