Solar’s survival in times of uncertainty

By Jenny Yu.  

From tax credit changes to tariffs, S-5!’s director of strategy and market development highlights factors impacting the solar industry. 

With six years at S-5! and sixteen years of working in solar under his belt, Mark Gies was the perfect person to discuss the state of the solar industry today as well as the trends shaping its future. In a recent Roofing Road Trips® episode, Mark shared valuable insights. 

First, he highlighted the exciting growth that had occurred in the past few years. “The price of solar has continually gone down. It's been a space that has been continually lowering the cost, making it more effective, more profitable to go solar,” Mark stated. “Historically, there's been tax incentives, investment tax credit you get — for every $100 you spend on your system, you get $30 back right away.” 

On top of the 30% tax credit, an additional 10% was offered if companies bought domestically made products, bringing profits back to the United States. These incentives, arranged by the previous administration to end in the 2030s, were a crucial part of driving growth in the industry. However, under the current administration, they are set to expire much sooner.  

“That's made a huge difference and created a lot of uncertainty as to what's going to happen next. For residential, it's ending at the end of this year,” Mark explained. “For the commercial side, it's going to go through 2027 into 2028. So, there's a little bit of a runway to land, but at that point, things are going to be slowing down significantly.” 

This change, coupled with the uncertainties of domestic and reciprocal tariffs, has created more questions and unknowns than answers.  

“Uncertainty around tariffs and reciprocal tariffs may be creating hiccups, freezing up money that is being used to invest in new equipment manufacturing in the U.S. I think that's at risk,” Mark shared. “But I think really the bigger hit in the US is going to be on people losing that extra incentive money.” 

Despite these uncertainties, Mark remains positive and hopeful. 

“In the long term, it's going to be self-sufficient. There's never been a doubt in my mind,” he expressed. “I'm in it for the ride. Everybody's positive. Everybody talked to me, saying, ‘Yeah, this is not good, but we're here. We're going to survive.’” 

Listen to the podcast to learn more about the current state of the solar industry and how it can endure the obstacles of tomorrow.