On clean energy, bigger is not always better

This is an opinion piece, but it points to a real change that affects homeowners: the recent federal tax law, called the One Big Beautiful Bill, ended the federal tax credit that homeowners could use for installing residential solar panels. It also added new restrictions on existing solar and battery storage tax credits. Separately, the EPA had tried to cancel the Solar for All program, which was meant to lower electricity bills by more than 20% for a million Americans, but a federal judge this month ruled the EPA's cancellation was illegal and restored the $7 billion program.

The writer, from a legal nonprofit, argues that these federal cuts unfairly target small, local clean-energy projects — like rooftop solar and community solar paired with battery storage — even though such projects make up at least 20% of all solar installed in the U.S. and can cut electricity bills quickly, provide backup power during outages, and reduce pollution. The piece contrasts this with large utility-scale solar and gas plants, which are cheap to build now but don't offer the same direct, local benefits.

For homeowners, the practical takeaway is that the federal solar tax credit for home installations is gone under current law, and other federal storage and solar incentives face new limits. The Solar for All program, however, has been reinstated by court order for now. What's available in your state may still vary, so it's worth checking local and state programs directly.