Clean Energy Is Still the Cheapest Energy. States Must Deploy It, Fast.

Solar and wind energy isn’t just cheaper—it’s also faster to deploy. Wind and solar projects can be assembled in months, while rooftop solar can be installed in a few days. By contrast, gas plants face long delays from turbine shortages and supply chain disruptions, threatening grid reliability and driving up costs. Utility company NextEra doesn’t expect gas turbines to be available for new plants until the 2030s (PDF).

Here’s the clincher: Renewable energy combined with batteries are showing they can improve grid reliability even at high levels of penetration, like in Texas and California. Costs for battery storage have fallen so drastically in the last few years that it’s now possible to get 97 percent of the way to 24-hour solar electricity supply in the country’s sunniest places—at a price that’s competitive with gas or coal. 

And clean, affordable, and fast energy is exactly what we need right now. Across the country, energy demand is climbing. The US grid is under pressure from extreme weather events and load growth from data centers, manufacturing, and electrification. But the answer isn’t more fossil fuels—it’s rapid, cost-effective deployment of modern clean energy infrastructure, which is faster to build than gas and competitive on price.

The Clock is Ticking. States Must Act Fast 

Here’s what’s at stake: When the GOP passed its so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) in July, it imposed new restrictions on federal clean energy tax credits. The new Republican law says that solar and wind projects must commence construction before July 4, 2026, to take full advantage of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and Production Tax Credit (PTC). Projects can also use these credits if they are placed in service before the end of 2027. Given the long time it takes projects to win approval for interconnection and complete construction, most projects that want to claim these credits will need to meet the commence construction standard before July 4, 2026.

These projects will also have to grapple with another hurdle imposed via the GOP’s megabill—so-called “Foreign Entity of Concern” (FEOC) requirements. Starting January 1, 2026, developers must prove that they did not receive assistance from so-called “Prohibited Foreign Entities” (PFEs) to remain eligible for the solar and wind tax credits. It’s particularly notable that China, a major global supplier of solar and wind energy components, has been designated a PFE. The FEOC process is still undefined by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is likely to be so onerous that it will stymie many solar and wind projects for many developers. That’s why it’s critical that developers start construction before the end of this year. For their part, states could pair developers with legal experts to ensure compliance and work to match developers with domestic and other non-FEOC-impacted supply chains. 

That gives renewable energy developers and utilities wanting to take full advantage of the tax credits less than a year to meet this construction deadline, and to avoid FEOC challenges, less than 6 months. The time is now for states, local, and Tribal governments to help get as many projects moving as possible. 

Of course, even after these deadlines, utility-scale solar and onshore wind power will remain the cheapest option compared to gas and coal. But in the narrow window we have, states and regional actors must do everything in their power to build out clean energy, quickly, at a discount. 

To help make solar and wind systems go further, eligible entities can also take advantage of the ITC and PTC tax credits for battery storage, which federal lawmakers left largely intact, though FEOC restrictions will apply. This means that eligible entities can continue to take advantage of subsidized battery storage well after 2026.