Tax credits brighten US' solar future
The financial crisis may slow growth in the US solar sector, but investment incentives should ensure expansion continues
Once again, Congress has saved the US solar energy industry. Considered the most important federal policy ever enacted for the solar industry, an $18bn incentives package signed into law by President George Bush in October should generate at least $325bn in private-sector investment, says the Solar Energy Industries Association. The act extends the 30% federal investment-tax credit for both residential and commercial solar installations for eight years. A component of the $0.7 trillion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which was designed to support the country's struggling financial system, the bill has also eliminated the $2,000 cap on tax credits for residential solar-electric
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