If you’ve been considering going solar, now is the time.
Solar installers in Hampton Roads say they’re seeing a surge in demand for rooftop panels as homeowners seek to get a federal tax credit that expires at the end of this year.
“Business is exploding right now,” said Nolie Diakoulas, director of business development for Virginia Beach-based Convert Solar, which operates statewide.
The federal tax credit “has been a very, very large driver over the past 13 years or so that we've been in business,” he said. “Specifically, right now, people are understanding, ‘Oh, wait a second, it’s going away.’”
The Investment Tax Credit first started rewarding homeowners who installed solar in 2006, but the amount fluctuated over the years. President Joe Biden’s signature climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, expanded and stabilized the credit by setting it at 30% through 2032.
President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, recently passed by Congress, gets rid of the residential credit, along with several others meant to help stimulate growth in clean energy.
People who want to take advantage before it expires will have to have panels installed and in service by Dec. 31.
Diakoulas said the cost of home solar systems varies depending on the size, but the average is about $30,000, which can be paid with cash or through loan financing.
That means the tax credit saves homeowners an average of $9,000 in upfront costs, which he said is often a deciding factor for customers. People without a tax liability that large can split the credit across several years.
Donny Damon, who lives in the Thoroughgood area of Virginia Beach, installed panels through Convert Solar a few years ago, and said it was a “no-brainer.”
“We want to comply with what's going on in the world and try not to use as much energy – and, of course, get the tax credit,” he said.
Damon said his monthly electric bill is now less than $8 per month, with the solar panels covering a majority of electricity needs even in the peak summer heat.
He pointed to his thermostat set at 64 degrees. “I keep it frosty in here, because I can.”
Deborah Arenstein is program manager with Solarize Virginia, an outreach initiative of the nonprofit Local Energy Alliance Program based in Charlottesville. Rising energy costs are another big reason she encourages the switch.
The regional power grid operator recently held an auction that set record-high prices for electricity, amid surging demand from data centers and delays in new energy projects.
“Energy prices are going up,” Arenstein said. “By going solar, it is guaranteed that your electric bills will not be going up (significantly) over time.”
Dominion Energy is also proposing changes to a different type of credit that benefits homeowners, called net metering.
“If you produce more energy than you are using, you're banking it, which means that you can then access that energy when you are not producing as much, without a charge,” Arenstein said.
The current ratio is 1:1, meaning if you produce one extra kilowatt-hour, that’s the same amount you earn back. Dominion plans to reduce the ratio of return starting next year.
Each year, Solarize requests proposals from solar installers and selects vetted companies to offer discounted pricing to its participants.
The group recently extended its deadline for interested homeowners to sign up for the 2025 program through Aug.15, allowing people an additional window to secure tax credits.
Diakoulas said the cutoff for Convert Solar to accept new orders that can be completed in time will likely be around mid-October.
Installers will then shift their focus toward the leasing model of rooftop solar, in which a third party owns and maintains the system, while the homeowner pays a set monthly fee.
Virginia’s General Assembly only started allowing solar leasing last year. That change is now key to keeping solar companies alive, Diakoulas said.
But he worries the elimination of tax credits will likely put smaller installers out of business.
