Congressional budget bill could kill solar industry in Minnesota just as it was gaining momentum

But for those who agree with President Donald Trump, who has called the Inflation Reduction Act supporting clean energy credits a “Green New Scam,” the time has come for an industry to stand on its own legs without the need for tax breaks to be competitive.

Blue Horizon Energy sells and builds installations for customers who use tax credits to finance clean energy systems. Its CEO, Griffin Dooling, has been unsuccessfully lobbying congressional Republicans to keep the tax credits in the federal budget bill. (Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Griffin Dooling, CEO of Minnetonka-based Blue Horizon Energy, which like TruNorth started in 2009, sells to customers who use tax credits to finance clean energy systems. Dooling held dozens of meetings in Washington, D.C., over the past several months trying to veer Congress away from obliterating the green-energy incentives.

Under the bill, tax credits for home and commercial-grade solar projects would be sunset or soon eliminated. Products from China and other countries of concern would be banned. And it would be harder to sell tax credits, a financial incentive for investors.

“It’s really just the kill-shot for the industry,” Dooling said. “We’ve already seen customers saying we can’t move forward with the projects with such a radical swing.”

Some moderate Republicans have vowed to fight the measure in the U.S. Senate. However, green industry advocates said they will be competing for attention with those who are fighting cuts to Medicaid and food stamps.

Those advocates now feel resigned to the worst-case scenario, which could lead to a collapse of the solar energy industry.