Solar Industry Outlines a Policy Agenda for the Biden Administration, 117th Congress

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has released a suite of policies and executive actions that has asked President-elect Biden and the newly elected Congress to act on during their first 100 days in office.

The Solar Vision is consistent with our goals in the Solar+ Decade and will put America on a path to 100% clean energy. It lays out three strategic imperatives for the solar industry, each of which contain numerous policy proposals. These imperatives are developing aggressive clean energy goals and a comprehensive carbon policy; investing in modern infrastructure and the workforce needed to support it; and ensuring access for clean and competitive energy markets.

Among the policies we will be seeking most urgently is tax policy that rapidly expands the use of solar energy to help address our climate crisis, trade policy that offers clarity and predictability to our industry and permitting approvals that cut red tape and gets more solar installed quickly and at less cost.

“Our 100-day agenda aligns with President-elect Biden’s vision to build back better, and represents a critical opportunity to meet the moment of the climate era with equity and justice at the forefront,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “Even as we face a likely divided government, every facet of this agenda has had bipartisan support. Now is the time to take action to generate economic opportunities for Americans in a way that promotes competition and addresses the climate crisis.”

Here are more details about our plan:

• The first part of The Solar Vision features policies to drive solar and storage deployment and curb climate impacts. These include changes to solar tax frameworks, carbon pricing, renewable energy development on public lands, research & development, among others.
• To ensure we have the infrastructure and workforce to reach our climate goals, the second part prioritizes support for underserved communities, workforce training, low-income access to solar, transmission planning, grid upgrades, and other critical Solar+ components such as manufacturing, electric vehicles, and remote permitting.
• The final set of policies emphasizes the importance of fair market access, fair tax treatment, fair trade, a fair regulatory regime, and we want a level, competitive playing field for the vibrant US solar industry.

SEIA and its members will be advocating for the components of this agenda throughout the transition and first 100 days of the Biden/Harris administration.