Solar is a bipartisan issue—here's why

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat—not when it comes to solar energy.

Solar energy has long been stereotyped as part of the left-leaning agenda, but the truth is that solar benefits people from all walks of life and political backgrounds. Even if you can’t put solar panels on your home, you should at least support the solar movement—it can bring financial savings, jobs, and a more stable economy on a local and national scale.

President Trump has enacted an executive order to pause funding for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is set to remain in effect until April 20. If you’re not a policy buff, the IRA is a clean energy spending bill that, among other things, provides clean energy incentives to homeowners and businesses that create valuable jobs and resources for our economy.

Former President Joe Biden signed the IRA into law in August 2022, and there’s been a lot of talk about whether it would survive if Trump was elected again (we have an article about it). Trump’s first-day executive order proves that he’s serious about his campaign promise to get rid of the IRA; in September 2024, he said he would "...rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act.”

It’s important to note that while Trump is a critic of the IRA, he has spoken in favor of solar energy—even saying “I’m a big fan of solar” at September’s presidential debate.

The IRA includes funding for a variety of things outside of solar energy. Also, many of the solar incentives included in it are expanded versions of incentives that have been around since George W. Bush was president and were continued and renewed all the way into Trump’s first administration (more on that in the next section).

We should also mention that a full repeal of all the IRA incentives remains unlikely because it would have to go through Congress, and politicians from both sides of the aisle support numerous aspects of the existing policy.

With this in mind, along with Trump’s previous statements in support of rooftop solar, there’s a possibility that he could work to dismantle the IRA while keeping some of the solar incentives for homeowners and business owners. Or maybe he’ll work to create different ones. Only time will tell.

While the IRA was created under the Biden administration, federal solar incentives were first created in 2005 under Republican leadership. Here’s a quick, condensed timeline:

• 2005: President George W. Bush signs the Energy Policy Act into law, creating the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). The ITC offered a federal tax credit worth 30% of a solar or storage system cost, capped at $2,000. It was only meant to stay in effect for a few years.

• 2008: President Barack Obama extended the ITC and removed the $2,000 cap through the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.

• 2009: Following The Great Recession, the Obama administration created the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which replaced the tax credit with cash grants for home and business owners who installed solar panels in 2009-2011.

• 2015: In September, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 was passed under Obama. This act developed a phase-out plan for the ITC by 2022 but was amended several times over the next five years.

• 2020: The phase-out for federal solar tax credits was extended for another two years under the Trump administration, keeping a 26% investment tax credit for solar projects started between 2020 and 2023, with the ITC to drop to 22% in 2023. There was speculation that Trump would veto the bill, but he signed off on it.

• 2022: The Inflation Reduction Act was created under the Biden administration, which not only renewed the tax credit for renewable-energy projects for over a decade but upped the tax credit amount back to 30% through 2034.

Note: These bills typically are started and passed by members of U.S. Congress before they head to the president for a final signature, but political party leadership is still significant.

Nearly 90% of American voters support the federal renewable energy tax credits in the IRA, according to a 2024 poll released by Global Strategy Group, North Star, and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). This includes 78% of 2020 voters for Trump, and interestingly, only 10% of 2020 Trump voters strongly opposed the policy he has promised to terminate.

A slightly older poll (2019) from Pew Research found that a whopping 92% of Americans were in favor of a U.S. expansion of solar power, including 86% of Republicans and 96% of Democrats surveyed.

Whether or not you want to install solar panels on your property, you should support the idea of solar adoption. Here are a few reasons why:

It’s really good for jobs

To borrow a segment from our other article:

The IRA supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country, making a full repeal quite tricky. According to modeling by policy group E2 and research group BW Research, clean energy projects announced during the IRA's first two years will create "621,000 direct and indirect new jobs—including 154,000 permanent jobs—throughout the economy over the next five years." This would generate about $50 billion in new tax revenue. 

In the same vein, BW Research sent a survey to 900 clean energy companies about the IRA; 53% of respondents said if the IRA is repealed, they'll lose business or revenue as a direct result. About 21% said they'd need to lay off workers. 

According to the New York Times, 80% of those manufacturing investments are in Republican congressional districts.That’s likely why 18 House Republicans wrote a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in support of the IRA back in August. Sure, they called the bill “deeply flawed,” but they urged Johnson not to support a full repeal, writing;

"Energy tax credits have spurred innovation, incentivized investment, and created good jobs in many parts of the country – including many districts represented by members of our conference."

It’s really good for your wallet

The cost of going solar in America has dropped significantly in recent years, while the price of electricity has hit all-time highs. In our latest Solar and Storage Marketplace Report covering the first half of 2024, we shared that quoted solar prices have neared all-time lows of $2.69 per watt.

New EnergySage data shows the average homeowner pays off their solar panels in roughly seven years and saves about $60,000 on electricity over a 30-year period. These numbers factor in solar incentives like those outlined in the IRA.

If you were to stay with traditional energy sources, your electricity spend would be as follows:

*Assumes an annual electricity price increase of 2.8% based on the 10-year average inflation rate.

First, what does “American energy independence” even mean? Energy independence means not having to rely on third parties for electricity. For America to achieve energy independence, it would have to generate enough electricity to not need to import energy sources.

While most people believe that American energy independence is important, the country is currently divided on the best way to accomplish it. In his article, Trump and Republicans get it wrong. Solar, wind power bring energy independence, Jacob Ahrens-Balwit, Strategic Communications Manager of Clean Wisconsin, wrote that the term “American energy independence” is too often “hijacked to justify policies that support an unsustainable reliance on fossil fuels.”

Trump’s current plan to achieve American energy independence

President Trump declared a national energy emergency related to his campaign promise to "drill, baby, drill"—or expand U.S. offshore drilling efforts. In his inaugural address, he referred to oil and gas as “liquid gold” and pledged to “bring prices down, fill our strategic [petroleum] reserves up again, right to the top, and export American energy all over the world.”

It’s worth noting that the United States is already the largest oil producer in the world, and our energy prices are higher than ever.

Negative environmental implications of drilling aside, Jacob tells EnergySage there are other problems with this plan.

“As long as we are dependent on fossil fuels for our energy, I don't think that we have true energy independence,” Jacob said.

Fossil fuels are a finite resource

Fossil fuels are a finite resource with “an expiration date,” as Jacob puts it. Therefore, he explains, the idea of achieving American energy independence through offshore drilling is “kind of a false promise.”

On the other hand, renewables take advantage of resources that are already available for energy, like sun, wind, and water. If the sun stops shining, the wind stops blowing, and water stops flowing indefinitely across the U.S., we’ll have much bigger things to worry about than where we get our electricity.

Renewables are available nationwide

Trump’s proposed drilling plan would involve expanding offshore drilling along the eastern U.S. Atlantic coast; the eastern Gulf of Mexico; the Pacific Coast along California, Oregon and Washington; and portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska. Producing our own energy—through whatever means—would help reduce the rising price of electricity, but it likely wouldn’t impact all states equally. Similar to how regional gasoline prices differ based on distance from supply and distribution, among other things.

Compared to oil and gas, solar, wind, and hydropower are much more readily available across all states.

“Wisconsin doesn’t have any coal, we don't extract natural gas here in the state. We pay $14 billion every single year to bring in fossil fuel resources,” Jacob said. “The IRA is one pathway that will help allow Wisconsin and other states like Wisconsin to keep that money in the state.”

Most states are already investing in solar (and other renewables)

Every quarter, SEIA ranks U.S. states based on how much solar energy they’ve installed. The top 10 states for 2023—the first full year the IRA was in effect—were as follows:

1. Texas

2. California

3. Florida

4. Colorado

5. Arizona

6. Ohio

7. Virginia

8.  Nevada

9. Wisconsin

10.  New York

According to 2023 rankings on the SEIA State Solar Map.

Notably, seven of the top 10 states for solar in 2023 voted for Trump in the 2024 election. For Wisconsin, it was a debut appearance in the top 10.

Additionally, a recent report from Clean Power showcases how the IRA has benefitted the nine states they work in (once more, all of these states voted red in 2024):

Data from Clean Power

There are far more states that have benefited from the IRA—policy group E2 keeps track of all clean energy projects and investments nationwide if you would like to look up your state.

With more states powering clean energy, Jacob says America could protect itself against “volatile global markets,” while also capitalizing on the benefits of renewable energy and working towards a future with clean water, clean air, and thriving local economies.

“There's a path forward towards that. We don't all agree on the path, but we agree on the vision,” Jacob said. “More and more we're going to see the world coming together on this one path of clean energy.”