Players in Pennsylvania’s solar industry are concerned that President Donald Trump’s signature  “One Big, Beautiful Bill” clouds the sector’s future for years to come and could threaten job losses. 

Pittsburgh-based solar energy installer Energy Independent Solutions [EIS] focuses on commercial projects, but it also has a team of around 10 residential installation employees. The bill passed by the U.S. House last month, which Trump wants the Senate to approve by July 4, threatens all of their jobs, said the firm’s president Joe Morinville.

“We won’t be able to sell residential power,” Morinville said. “That’s going to be a crushing blow” for the industry.

Solar has been hot in Pennsylvania.

• Roughly 6,000 people work in the industry, according to a 2024 report by the Department of Energy. 
• The industry has seen $93.6 million in new investment since 2022, according to the 2025 Climate Power Report. 
• The number of new solar projects grew by 160% in recent years, according to a 2023 press release by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. 

The bill, which may face challenges in the Senate, would roll back the 30% tax credits for residential and commercial solar installment that were introduced as part of the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act [IRA] by the end of the year.

If it passes the Senate, the cuts would mean long-term setbacks for renewable energy, widespread job loss and a hike in energy costs for everyone, experts in the field said.

The White House did not respond to a request for comments. The bill’s primary aims are to save money in some areas, offset the costs of extending tax cuts approved in 2017, add new tax cuts the president campaigned on and beef up spending on border security, deportations and national security.

Renewable energy projects which start construction within 60 days of the bill’s passage and finish by end-of-year 2028 would still be able to utilize the credits.

Even as Washington moves away from renewables, the state is stepping up its role. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro led a $22.6 million grant allocation for solar panel installation at 74 schools across the state. Though the grants won’t be affected by federal policy, experts said the federal shifts pose broader threats to clean energy efforts.

Many solar projects are already on hold due to uncertainty raised by the House bill, said Sharon Pillar, executive director of the Pennsylvania Solar Center.

Though it’s hard to estimate an exact amount of annual investment, she noted that the majority of energy sources awaiting addition to the region’s PJM electrical grid are renewables. Getting rid of the tax incentives would halt progress for at least the next five years, she said. 

“Billions of dollars of investment could be cancelled over this,” Pillar said.

Statewide energy prices are already expected to rise in June due to demand from data storage and AI centers, Morinville said. A decrease in renewables would raise energy prices further, Pillar added.

The pending bill targets another tax credit available to businesses which act as middlemen for solar installation and equipment leasing, or those who enter into power purchase agreements with residents. The bill’s current language does not eliminate this credit entirely but does restrict “material assistance from a prohibited foreign entity.”

This could make the credit effectively impossible to access starting in 2026, according to Sean Gallagher, senior vice president of policy at the Solar Energy Industries Association.

“It puts the obligation on the installer or the developer to trace back the supply chain in a way that’s completely impossible,” Gallagher said. 

Most photovoltaic panels used in American solar systems are made in China, though funding from the IRA has launched more manufacturing in the U.S., Pillar said. 

Monica Carey, Pennaylvania program director for Solar United Neighbors, said the restrictions combined with the tax breaks add major disincentives to solar transitioning for local businesses and residents that “will devastate the solar industry in Pennsylvania.”

The restriction on foreign materials would effectively end panel manufacturing in the U.S. due to low supply, Pillar said. Most domestic materials are already called for and under contract, making them hard to obtain.

Morinville said it’s frustrating that while the bill strips support for renewables, it offers incentives to the fossil fuel industry.

The bill allows natural gas pipeline developers to pay a $10 million fee for expedited permitting. It also authorizes increased leasing of public lands for drilling, mining and logging.

Morinville said solar is the only energy source that can match the rising energy demand, and that it’s quick to build and cost effective.

The bill would be “taking a chainsaw to the market,” Morinville said.

The tax bill was unanimously supported by Pennsylvania’s congressional Republicans while all Democrats opposed it. The bill’s final House vote was 215-214. 

Two days before the bill passed, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office approved $22.6 million in grants to offset solar installation costs for 74 schools across the state, five of which are in Allegheny County. The grants will be administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development [DCED] and funded through the Commonwealth Financing Authority, according to a press release.

The grants are entirely state funded. Though the grants, which would cover the majority of project costs, won’t be affected by the House bill, schools would not receive an additional, federal tax credit, Pillar said. The solar center helped several recipient schools  apply for funding.

Allegheny County schools receiving grants:

• Carlynton Junior-Senior High School, $254,683
• Clairton Middle / High School, $361,990
• Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship, $76,995
• Pittsburgh Carrick High School, $300,000
• Pittsburgh Classical 6-8/Gifted Center, $300,000

Clairton Middle / High School’s impending solar system will save the school $1.5 million over the next 30 years, said Superintendent Tamara Allen-Thomas during a press conference outside the school on May 29.

The project is a step toward realizing Allen-Thomas’ academic and attendance goals, she said, by freeing up money for additional student programming, including STEM and related fields, finance and economics, and leadership building.

Currently, there is no timeframe on when the project will be done, but the district will be putting out a request for qualifications by late June, Allen-Thomas said.

“This project also means cleaner air, lower emissions and more clean energy jobs right here in our own backyard,” she said during the press conference. “It’s good for our kids, good for our economy and good for our planet.”

The grants are part of the Solar for Schools program, which Shapiro signed into law in July 2024 as part of his larger clean energy plan.

Allen-Thomas and other speakers at the press conference, including U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, said the federal tax bill threatens similar projects in the future. 

Though the tax bill would mean a setback for the clean energy industry in the state, Lee said the obvious economic benefits ensure the renewable sector will continue.

“We need more investments in the climate future, not slashing programs that we know create the future that we deserve,” Lee said.

Ember Duke, a PublicSource editorial intern, is a recent graduate of Duquesne University and one of 10 Pittsburgh Media Partnership summer interns. She can be reached at ember@publicsource.org.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was fact-checked by Katherine Wilkison.