Anyone who has perused the aisles of a grocery store lately knows that costs have been on the rise: Inflation is at a 40-year high, with prices rising 9.1% over the past 12 months.
Energy has not been immune to the inflation trend. Gasoline has increased in price by 42 percent since this time last year. And while prices appear to be ticking down this month, analysts have repeatedly found that clean energy is actually an inflation-fighting tool. And legislation hanging on the precipice in Congress will lower energy prices for all Americans and add U.S. solar manufacturing that creates jobs and supports national security.
It’s pretty simple. If the concern is inflation, passing the reconciliation legislation is an essential part of the solution. Members of Congress must stay at the table and negotiate an American energy deal.
Passing a budget reconciliation package focused on clean energy would counter recent inflationary pricing trends and ensure that low-cost, reliable solar power is accessible for all. For example, a long-term extension of the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) would provide certainty to solar installers and customers about system costs, driving a sixfold increase in solar capacity by 2032. And investing in U.S. solar manufacturing would help relieve global supply chain and trade pressures while creating thousands of American jobs.
Without federal investments, our nation is missing out on a generational opportunity for solar and storage to sustain a 1-million-person workforce complete with strong worker protections, invest hundreds of billions of dollars in our economy and provide clean energy for all Americans.
There is compelling evidence that clean energy legislation, if passed, will counter inflation.
The Rhodium Group found that clean energy can help cut prices. Clean electricity tax credits expand the amount of electricity that comes from fuel free, zero-price volatility resources like wind and solar. Legislation like that under consideration in the Senate, coupled with new policy actions taken by executive agencies and states, can cut household energy costs, Rhodium says.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance says that renewable prices rose last year, but gas and coal rose even more. The BNEF study also found that the gap between cost of wind/solar and gas is at an all-time high; and locked-in low costs, with no carbon dioxide emissions could be a spot of economic relief.
Households and businesses that go solar can significantly reduce their electricity bills by producing their own power. Homeowners with rooftop solar save between $10,000 and $30,000 on electricity costs over the lifetime of the panels. Even for households that cannot install solar on their property, options like community solar provide a way to save by subscribing to an off-site array. Community solar can reduce energy costs and lead to bill savings of up to 25%, critically lessening energy burdens for participants that qualify as low-income.
Beyond rooftop and community solar options, the increasing prevalence of solar and storage on our electric grid can lower costs for utility ratepayers. Solar energy is produced domestically, helping to insulate it from external factors, such as price volatility. It also shores up energy security and ensures that ratepayers know what to expect on their energy bills.
Making an American energy deal would help set solar on track to constitute 30 percent of U.S. electricity generation by 2030. That’s a future of affordable, reliable and secure energy for all Americans. It’s time for Congress to get back to the table and get a deal done.
Abigail Ross Hopper is the president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).