“Never again; let the free market choose winners and let government not pick losers.”

Remember Solyndra, a solar panel manufacture that collapsed soon after receiving a $535 million loan guarantee from the US government back in 2011? This company received the U.S. Department of Energy’s first loan guarantee under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, an infamous beginning that embarrassed President Obama and the “green” energy industry.

Today, 14 years later, the erroneously described “infant” industry is badly listing with its perennial tax subsidies at risk. Grid solar is plagued by failure, with investors facing net zero and employees looking for alternatives. Customers are disgruntled as well.

Enter SolarInsure, whose business is about “safeguarding your renewable energy investment with energy system monitoring and warranties.” SolarInsure has compiled a list of bankrupt solar firms in the interest of filling claims for nonperformance.…

“Now that the subsidies are gone, are you going to fold your tent, or create a business that is a survivor?” – (Doug Houseman, below)

Electricity expert and solar advocate Doug Houseman (we debate on LinkedIn) recently posted on the new reality for the subsidy-entitled solar industry. He is reacting to the Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill rollback (but not elimination!) of the Inflation Reduction Act, Investment Tax Credit, and Production Tax Credit.

“Today the world changed,” he began. “With the passage of the Mega bill energy assurance went away.”

It was that solar and wind developers and installers had a pretty good idea of what subsidies they would get, the subsidies were untouchable, and stable for decades. A little change here and there, but largely they stayed the same. Even though it made little sense to provide subsidies to rooftop solar, it was very stable too.

Aaron Nichols on LinkedIn provided a history of federal solar tax subsidies, beginning with Jimmy Carter. His point was to show that the numerous extensions (15 by my count) were bipartisan. My point, instead, is that on-grid solar is inherently noncompetitive against free market energies. [Note: AN blocked me]

Solar tax credits were not “created by the Inflation Reduction Act” or “invented by the Biden Administration,” Nichols begins. He continues:

The first solar energy incentives were created in 1978 by Jimmy Carter’s Administration. They’ve even enjoyed bipartisan support and been renewed by Republican administrations! Here’s a high-level history of solar tax credits:

1978: The Energy Tax Act of 1978 set the first federal solar ITC at 10% of project costs. ​Congress extended and modified this credit through the early 1980s, eventually making a 10% solar ITC permanent in 1992​.…

“It is hard to square Meghan Nutting’s parting comments with good, only bad. Her company failed everyone but a few employees, and no one more than founder/CEO John Berger. Her industry has failed its owners and customers too. Her solar journey was a mistake, a mirage, enabled by government.”

Rooftop solar will go down as one of the biggest consumer busts in energy history–and it is just getting started. Sunnova Energy International, with 441,000 rooftop customers, already the subject of mass complaints and lawsuits, can no longer perform on their long-term contracts. So much for promises (still on their website):

25 Years of Protection

Enjoy peace of mind knowing your home solar system and battery are covered by Sunnova Protect®, featuring maintenance, monitoring, repairs, and replacements for 25 years.…