Quick note: I’ve designed today’s episode to be an overview that you can send to friends and family to show them the policies of this administration that affect solar energy, all in one place. Enjoy!
When we’re plugged into the news cycle, it can be easy to get angry about something and then forget it. Especially since so much is coming at us daily, and so much news isn’t related to clean energy.
So I’ve decided to take today’s episode to do a recap of policies that have been passed since January that affect the solar industry.
If I’ve missed anything, please let me know in the comments!
January 20 (Inauguration Day)
President Trump signed two executive orders on his first day in office:
* Declaring a National Energy Emergency
The National Energy Emergency order declared high energy prices and state-level climate policies a national security threat, giving federal agencies broad emergency powers to fast-track energy projects, bypass environmental reviews (under NEPA, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act), and even use eminent domain or the Defense Production Act to accelerate infrastructure.
The Unleashing American Energy order revoked nearly every Biden-era climate and clean energy directive, halted Inflation Reduction Act funding (including solar and EV programs), dismantled the social cost of carbon, and directed agencies to rescind any rules that “burden” domestic energy development.
Neither one mentioned solar specifically, but they set the stage for this administration’s policies by excluding solar and wind from the definition of “energy.”
Sec. 8. Definitions. For purposes of this order, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) The term “energy” or “energy resources” means crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal heat, the kinetic movement of flowing water, and critical minerals, as defined by 30 U.S.C. 1606 (a)(3).
February 5th
The administration froze funding for the EPA’s $7 billion Solar for All program.
Solar for All was designed to help low-income households go solar through grants and loans, thereby lowering their electricity bills.
Grant recipients, including nonprofits like GRID Alternatives and several states, were abruptly notified that reimbursements were suspended and the funding portal was shut down, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars in approved projects in limbo.
The freeze stemmed from President Trump’s Unleashing American Energy executive order, which directed agencies to halt climate-related IRA and infrastructure law spending while prioritizing fossil fuel development
April 8th
President Trump signed another Executive Order:
PROTECTING AMERICAN ENERGY FROM STATE OVERREACH
Again, this Executive Order omitted solar and wind from the list of energy-generating resources:
My Administration is committed to unleashing American energy, especially through the removal of all illegitimate impediments to the identification, development, siting, production, investment in, or use of domestic energy resources — particularly oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, geothermal, biofuel, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources.
This executive order directs the Department of Justice to challenge and overturn state and local laws that impose climate-related restrictions on energy production.
It specifically targets policies like carbon caps, climate liability lawsuits, environmental justice rules, and renewable energy standards that the administration views as “burdensome” or “ideologically motivated.”
While the order is framed as protecting fossil fuels, it could directly harm solar deployment. It’s designed to favor fossil fuels by stripping states of their ability to set climate or renewable energy goals.
May 20th
Steep tariffs on imported solar panels go into effect:
In May 2025, the U.S. International Trade Commission finalized a decision to impose steep antidumping and countervailing duties on solar cells and panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
They ruled that the U.S. industry has been harmed by unfairly cheap imports. The tariffs range from 14% to over 3,500% depending on the country and manufacturer.
July 4
One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) signed.
The bill phases out clean energy incentives, including:
* Residential Investment Tax Credit (ITC, Section 25D)Repeals the 30% federal tax credit for homeowners who install rooftop solar, phasing it out completely after December 31, 2025.
* Commercial Investment Tax Credit (ITC, Section 48E)Eliminates the technology-neutral ITC for businesses, schools, nonprofits, and other entities investing in solar systems unless projects begin physical construction before July 4, 2026.
* Production Tax Credit (PTC, Section 45Y)Ends the technology-neutral PTC, which rewarded utility-scale solar (and wind) projects for generating power.
* Domestic Content Bonus CreditRemoves the 10% bonus adder for projects using U.S.-made solar panels, inverters, and other components, weakening federal support for domestic solar manufacturing.
* Low-Income & Energy Community AddersCancels the 10% bonus credits for projects located in low-income communities or former fossil-fuel-dependent regions.
* Direct Pay & Transferability (by proxy) Essentially repeals the ability for tax-exempt entities (like schools, hospitals, municipalities, and tribes) to receive credits as cash payments, and blocks credit transferability between companies.
July 7th
President Trump Signs the Executive Order Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign-Controlled Energy Sources
There were several Republican Members of Congress who only agreed to sign Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” if he promised to make it harder for developers to move clean energy projects forward. So he signed this Executive Order days after the bill was passed.
The order directs the Treasury Department to terminate production and investment tax credits for clean electricity, and the Interior Department to strip away any regulatory “preferential treatment” for renewables compared to fossil fuels and nuclear.
July 17
The Interior Department moved to dismantle what it called “regulatory favoritism” for wind and solar.
The new policy ended right-of-way and capacity fee discounts for renewable projects, imposed extra political oversight by requiring the Secretary’s office to review all approvals, and aligned with Trump’s earlier order eliminating renewable tax credits.
Officials framed the change as correcting unfair advantages granted under Biden, while boosting coal, gas, and nuclear.
August 1
The Bureau of Land Management released guidance targeting solar and wind projects on federal lands, citing the Department of the Interior’s decision to end “preferential treatment for unreliable, subsidy-dependent wind and solar energy.”
They ended long-standing right-of-way and megawatt capacity fee discounts, which had helped lower costs for developers leasing public lands for renewable projects.
The announcement also confirmed that all solar and wind project decisions under BLM’s jurisdiction would undergo elevated review by the Secretary’s office.
This action raises the cost of siting projects on federal land and makes the approval process far more uncertain.
August 8
EPA officially moves to end Solar for All, which, as previously mentioned, offered solar access to low-income households
The program, created under the Biden administration, was part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and aimed to bring rooftop solar, community solar, and battery storage to more than 900,000 households.
In the official announcement on Twitter, Zeldin called the program a “boondoggle.”
August 15
The Treasury Department and IRS issued Notice 2025-42, providing updated guidance on how renewable energy projects can qualify for the Investment Tax Credits as they’re being phased out.
The rule eliminates the 5% “safe harbor” test that previously allowed developers to lock in eligibility by spending just 5% of project costs before the construction deadline.
Projects must now satisfy the “physical work test” to qualify as having “begun construction.” That means developers must start actual, continuous, significant physical work before deadlines, not just spend money. Developers can no longer rely on pre-purchased equipment or minimal upfront costs to secure credits.
Projects stuck in permitting or interconnection queues are now at higher risk of missing eligibility.
August 18
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), under Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, announced that it will no longer support solar or wind projects on productive agricultural land, effectively ending the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) support for solar farms.
They declared that funding and loan guarantees will no longer be available for solar projects on agricultural land.
