The massive tax break package House Republicans passed last month would, among other things, roll back Biden-era clean energy tax credits.
The Solar Energy Industries Association, a nonprofit advocacy trade group for the solar industry, reports that will have devastating impacts on solar manufacturing, especially in Ohio.
“Ohio has become the number one manufacturing state for solar and other solar products,” said SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper.
As of right now, the federal government offers a tax credit to boost solar manufacturing. That’s on the chopping block in the house bill, which seeks to stop some $522 billion in investments from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. There’s been some pushback from senators, as they hash out their version of the reconciliation bill, but it remains to be seen how energy credits will fair.
If left unchanged, Hopper said the clean energy tax credit rollbacks will lead to fewer solar projects happening, and therefore fewer people purchasing solar products manufactured in Ohio and other states.
SEIA ranks Ohio 12th in the nation for solar capacity, with the ability to power more than 700,000 homes. The state is home to many companies that make solar parts, however, including inverters, trackers and solar cells. SEIA reports that the industry employs about 8,000 Ohioans.
“Our analysis shows that if the reconciliation bill that passed out of the House isn't changed by the Senate, about 5,600 jobs are at risk in Ohio, and at least 21 factories are at risk of closing their doors,” Hopper told WOSU.
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Eric Goodwin is vice president of business development for OMCO Solar, based in the Cleveland suburb of Wickliffe. The 70-year-old OMCO, or Ohio Molding Company, began by making automotive parts and then custom steel parts. The company branched into the solar space in 2007.
“And as of last year – I think this is significant for us – solar was our biggest market for the first time,” Goodwin said.
At its Wickliffe plant, OMCO Solar makes the steel racking that holds solar panels. Goodwin says that’s about 70% of that plant’s business – up from around 30% of business about four years ago.
OMCO Solar also makes single-axis trackers, devices that allow solar panels to follow the sun throughout the day, at factories in Huntsville, Ala and Phoenix.
Goodwin said OMCO already had to navigate a 30% spike in U.S. steel prices that coincided with Trump’s inauguration. Now, OMCO’s customers could lose the flexibility that came with clean energy tax credits, which may lead them to delay or cancel projects.
“I think the biggest impact when we look at this legislation is the ability of our customers to do projects,” Goodwin said.
It’s too early to say what that will ultimately mean for the company or its Ohio employees, Goodwin said.
“We definitely would have to adjust, but we usually try to stay pretty lean, but you know, it could have an impact,” he said.
Nationwide, the solar plants that would suffer exist largely in red states that supported Trump, Goodwin said.
“So many people who voted for Trump are the ones making solar panels. They're making racking. They're out in the field building solar plants,” Goodwin said. “If this stuff goes, it literally turns its back on many people that voted for our current president and administration.”
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While the House reconciliation bill guts clean energy tax credits, it supports increased mining and drilling.
U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson, who represents Licking County and Zanesville, chairs the House Energy Action Team, or HEAT. He’s consistently noted a need for increased energy production.
Balderson didn’t respond to a request for an interview with WOSU.
Balderson and other elected officials who support ramping up gas and coal energy production have said that because of clean energy tax credits, "green" projects jammed up the proposed energy project queue. They claim that putting traditional energy production on the backburner threatens the stability of America’s power grid.
Balderson argues that gas and coal are always reliable, while wind and solar are “weather dependent.”
“From banning permits for LNG export terminals to imposing unworkable emission standards or our most critical power plants, the last administration prioritized our politics over practicality and put our energy security at risk,” Balderson said in March while praising Trump’s America First policy. “Our nation has the resources to power our future and supply the world with affordable, reliable energy.”
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Balderson also positions Ohio as a leader in natural gas production.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration lists Ohio among the nation’s top 10 natural gas producers. The state produces more gas than it consumes.
Meanwhile, solar made up just 3.17% of Ohio’s energy generation in 2024, but that’s more than double than the previous year, when solar was 1.35% of the state’s energy output. Data shows solar power has grown every year since 2010.
While Balderson has said clean energy policies drive up costs for Americans, SEIA’s Hopper said the reconciliation bill will increase Americans’ electricity bills by around $51 billion over 10 years. She said that amounts to about $100 a year for Ohio families.
“That's because solar and storage are the least priced source of electricity,” Hopper said. “If we take away those tax credits, the prices are going to go up and that's going to affect all of us.”
Hopper also points out that America’s electric grid has to contend with changing technology. Data centers, like the many sprinkled across central Ohio, use enormous amounts of power. America is also in an artificial intelligence race against China.
“So, you can imagine at a time when we are trying to win the AI race, when we are needing every electron that we can get to win, solar and storage is a huge part of that success story,” Hopper said. "You do not want jobs leaving the state. You don't want factories leaving the state. And you certainly don't wanna hand AI dominance to China."
