Lawmakers continue to drive toward extending the solar
investment tax credit (ITC). Recently, U.S. Senate Democratic and Republican
leaders ― including Sens.Max Baucus(D-MT),Chuck
Grassley (R-IA),Harry Reid(D-NV),John
Ensign(R-NV),Maria Cantwell(D-WA), andMitch
McConnell(R-KY) ― have taken wide strides toward pushing legislation
forward.
The agreement has been hashed out over the past week; with
luck it will hit the Senate floor for a vote by the end of this week. It should
include an eight-year extension of the commercial ITC, a utility exemption
repeal, a two-year extension of the residential ITC and other measures.
Observers have commented that the bipartisan nature of this
agreement decreases the likelihood that the legislation will be vetoed by the
president. Some estimate that the passing of the ITC could create more than
400,000 new U.S. jobs in the solar industry alone over the next eight years.