Local Opinion: Solar power tax credits help bring equity to greener technology

Growing up in a family that relied on state assistance, I always viewed residential solar power as a luxury. Having $10,000 set aside to install solar when you have student debt, a mortgage, and childcare expenses is just not realistic for many Americans.

Protecting the environment that my family has called home for six generations is important to me. I want to ensure the next seven generations thrive. I want to live on our planet without negatively impacting it. Blending ancestral ways of life with modern technology into local, state, and federal policy is one way to usher in positive and more sustainable change.

The Biden Administration has taken an essential step towards ushering in that change by increasing solar installation tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. In addition to a grant from a local solar co-op, this policy helped turned my dream of installing solar in my home into a reality in December of 2022. The 30% tax credit makes the move to solar that much more attainable for lower-to-middle-income people like me.

For too long, systems inequalities have kept clean energy out of the hands of the people who could benefit from it the most. Low-income households spend three times more on energy costs than higher-income households with higher levels of energy efficiency. The energy burden has been found to disproportionately impact African American and Latino households, especially in Arizona.

While it has become more affordable to install solar over the last decade, residential solar adoption still skews towards higher-income households. Solar tax credits created to make solar more attainable leave out the 7 in 10 households that don’t earn enough for tax credits to make a significant difference in the overall cost of solar installation.

So while the households that would benefit most from solar cannot afford the high price, we continue to spend more on energy because we don’t have the upfront capital to live in an updated and energy-efficient house.

When I learned of the solar co-op and found out grants were available for lower-middle-income families, I started thinking I, too, could enter the solar world. Last year, the solar tax credit was at 26% and would be lowered to 22% in 2023. We scrambled to get on the installation list before the year’s end.

Like many prospective solar customers, tax credits can be the difference between getting solar and not. But with the credits set to decrease, everyone rushes to take advantage of them creating long waitlists. We feared we wouldn’t have solar installed in time, just a 4% difference in tax credits means losing out on hundreds to thousands of dollars in savings.

But this anxious urgency disappeared once the Biden Administration increased solar tax credits to 30% for the next 10 years. As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the increased solar tax credits made it even more affordable for my family to install solar and we didn’t have to rush to get off the installation waitlist.

The grant covered $5,000 of our system, and knowing we would get 30% back on the remaining $5,000 sweetened the deal on this important investment. After our solar was installed in December 2022, I felt proud that I achieved something I long dreamed of. Aside from a tio who purchased a home with solar, I think I am the first person in my family to purchase and install a solar system. It’s just not that common in Mexican-American families, as we often have other urgent and pressing expenses.

Getting solar created a small feeling of financial freedom knowing we would soon enjoy lowered energy bills and contribute a small part to solving the climate crisis. The grant enabled us to go green, and the Inflation Reduction Act made the decision even easier. I encourage all lawmakers to increase local, state, and federal subsidies towards more sustainable living for our collective survival.