OPINION:
Energy policy is never just about energy. It’s about control: who wields it, who profits from it and who pays. President Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council is more than a bureaucratic reshuffle. It is a necessary course correction after years of intervention that have inflated costs while enriching those who game the system.
If we are serious about energy dominance — securing national interests rather than serving political agendas — then we must discuss solar. Not the subsidy-driven illusion but real, market-driven innovation that fosters independence and American resilience.
The problem isn’t solar; it’s subsidy culture
For years, conservatives have been misled into believing solar energy is a left-wing fantasy. That is a distortion. The issue is not solar but how artificial incentives have warped its trajectory.
I speak from experience.
At 14, I worked with off-grid solar, not as a political statement but as an entrepreneur. By 28, I’d built a company generating nearly $1 billion in sales, not through lobbying but by competing and delivering financially sound products.
The industry’s entrenched players do not operate under these principles. Their profits are secured not by making solar more affordable but by manipulating a subsidy framework that guarantees their bottom line.
The $1 trillion giveaway
Take the Inflation Reduction Act, which is marketed as a tool for reducing energy costs but, in practice, is a $1 trillion corporate windfall. Originally projected at $300 billion, the House Ways and Means Committee now pegs its cost at $1.3 trillion over the next seven years. The culprit? Regulatory capture. Insiders crafted loopholes that turned modest incentives into an unchecked fiscal hemorrhage.
One glaring example is the “system appraisal-based tax credit.” A company installs a system at $28,000 but manipulates its “appraised” value to $90,000, inflating tax credits from $9,000 to $30,000. This isn’t investment; it’s fraud. Congress intended a 30% credit for homeowners. Regulators morphed it into an 80% giveaway for corporations.
This loophole should be closed immediately. The Department of Energy should have the authority to advise the IRS on corrective measures. Congress never intended to triple program costs. A reasonable cap — $3.50 per watt for residential and $1.50 for commercial installations — would save taxpayers billions of dollars. Gradual reductions of 5% to 7% annually would foster innovation while weaning the industry off subsidies. By 2032, when the current homeowner credit ends, costs would settle at $2.10 per watt, eliminating any justification for further subsidies.
The misguided ‘bonus credits’
Another misstep is the “bonus credit” scheme, which is designed to incentivize climate justice but is, in reality, an invitation for abuse. A system requiring an 80% subsidy is not viable. If it can’t sustain itself at a 30% credit, it isn’t commercially sustainable — period.
Similarly, there’s a 10% bonus for American-made content. A better approach? Scrap the 30% credit unless domestic content requirements are met. If subsidies must exist, they should serve national interests rather than enriching foreign supply chains.
A temporary 30% subsidy — for a purpose
Some advocate for an immediate subsidy repeal, which is understandable but impractical. The remaining 30% serves as a bridge to stability, preventing disruption to an industry employing 300,000 middle-class Americans. The Trump administration’s pro-American manufacturing policy requires a transition to avoid unnecessary economic turbulence.
My company alone has created more than 400 jobs in an 80% Trump-voting Texas county, with plans for 600 more in four years. A structured phase-out provides certainty for investors and workers while ensuring solar remains viable — not a bubble waiting to burst and then come back.
By keeping the 30% subsidy temporarily while eliminating fraud, we preserve American jobs, stabilize domestic manufacturing investment and ensure continued cost reductions, making subsidies unnecessary by 2032.
Conservatives must lead on energy independence
Conservatives have ceded the energy innovation debate to the left for too long. That must change. Energy independence is not partisan; it is strategic.
The conservative approach should be clear and have three priorities. First, we should champion energy choice by empowering homeowners and businesses to control their own power. We should also fix the tax policy. If oil exploration equipment is tax-exempt, so should solar and battery storage. We should also eliminate wasteful subsidies and end corporate welfare disguised as climate policy.
The bottom line: Success over subsidies
I built my company by competing, not lobbying. We innovate. Solar power is an American invention. Americans have remarkably cut costs year over year, and with the right leadership, we will reap the incredible benefits in a fiscally sustainable way.
The road map is clear: Phase out subsidies responsibly, shut down fraud and let the market dictate success. Doing so would save $1 trillion while ensuring long-term industry viability.
To Mr. Trump and every American who values competition over cronyism: Give solar a real shot. Let the best ideas — not the best lobbyists — win.
As Mr. Trump often says, “Change your attitude and gain some altitude.” There is nothing more American than producing your own power.
• James Showalter is the founder and CEO of Signature Solar.
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