Solar company cuts dozens of CT jobs. The clean energy company isn’t alone and critics blame Trump.
A major residential solar installer is laying off dozens of employees in Connecticut after President Donald Trump signed sweeping legislation that included curtailing renewable energy tax credits for homeowners installing solar panels.
Solar installer PosiGen began laying off 78 employees Sunday at three locations in Connecticut — Wethersfield, Danbury and Shelton — as the Louisiana-based company moved to cease most of its operations nationwide, effective immediately, according to a letter Monday filed with the state Department of Labor.
The locations in Connecticut will, for now, stay open, but the layoffs should be considered permanent, PosiGen said.
There was swift reaction Wednesday from top Democratic legislative leaders in Connecticut who blamed Trump, a Republican, for the job losses tied to the president’s attacks on the clean energy industry.
“This closure is not only a tragedy for the men and women who worked at PosiGen, but also a setback for our state and our nation,” Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, said in a release. “At a moment when we should be investing in clean energy and job growth, President Trump has turned his back on progress. He is willing to take food off the table of Connecticut families to further the goals of big oil and gas.”
PosiGen, which has focused on bringing solar power to low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, said it was unable to raise long-term capital to keep the company on firm financial footing.
“This all occurred in the shadow of the passage of a new federal tax law that canceled certain federal renewable energy tax credits as of the end of 2025, adding regulatory uncertainty to the renewables industry and making it more difficult for the company to secure financing,” PosiGen told state labor officials.
PosiGen said its troubles are part of a larger disruption that “already has forced several other major companies in the renewables industry to cease or significantly reduce their operations.”
Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” backed by Republican majorities in the House and Senate ended, as of Dec. 31, a 30% tax credit for homeowners on clean energy systems such as solar panels, small wind turbines, geothermal systems and battery storage technology. The bill, signed by Trump on July 4, eliminated a broad array of clean energy incentives and credits.
Under the Biden-era “Inflation Reduction Act,” signed in 2022 with a heavy investment in clean energy initiatives, the 30% credit was extended to Jan. 1, 2035, with the credit being phased down to 22% beginning in 2033.
“President Trump talks a big game about standing up for the working man, but the truth is he’s left 78 Connecticut families without a paycheck,” Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said in a release. “These are blue-collar jobs that built our clean energy future. Now they’re gone because Trump needed the money for tax cuts for billionaires and his corrupt circle.”
Trump has targeted a broad spectrum of clean-energy initiatives, well beyond residential solar power. This week, the Trump administration suddenly ordered that work stop on a nearly completed wind farm being assembled in New London.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that “Trump is not only working to stop a transition away from fossil fuels in the United States, he is pressuring other countries to relax their pledges to fight climate change and instead burn more oil, gas and coal.”
In its letter to the state labor department, PosiGen said it is still working to obtain financing to continue operations or “effectuate a sale of its remaining business and, if it cannot do so, it intends to shut down all operations” and close locations on a permanent basis.
Here is a list of the positions affected by the job cuts, according to the letter:
Position/ Number of Employees
Activation Technician 1
Business Development Representative 1
Compliance Manager 1
Electrical Apprentice 1
Electrician 3
Energy Efficiency Admin 1
Energy Efficiency Coordinator 2
Energy Efficiency Tech II 1
Energy Efficiency Tech III 2
Energy Efficiency Technician 4
Inside Sales Representative 8
Manager District Sales 1
Manager Electrical 1
Manager Inside Sales 1
Manager Post Install 1
Manager Territory Sales 3
Program Manager 1
Quality Control Inspector 1
Recovery Advocate Specialist 2
RES 22
Site Surveyor II 1
Site Surveyor III 1
Skedulo Administrator 2
Sr Inside Sales Representative 3
Sr Manager Community Impact 1
Sr Manager Energy Efficiency 1
Sr Partner Success Manager 1
Sr RES 1
Supervisor Billing and Contracts 1
Supervisor Energy Efficiency 2
Supervisor Utility/Permitting 1
Talent Acquisition Recruiter 1
Team Leader Inside Sales 2
VP Public Policy & Government Affairs 1
Warehouse Technician I 1
The remaining positions will be terminated if the company is not able to obtain sufficient financing to continue operations or to effectuate a sale of its remaining business:
Position/ Number of Employees
Collections Agent 1
Electrician 1
Field Collections Agent 1
Field Service Technician III 1
Manager Regional Field Service 1
Scheduling Coordinator 1
State Incentive Coordinator II 1
Supervisor IT Support 1
Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.
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