Let’s start off by addressing what may be the biggest concern for everyone: What is happening to renewable energy projects in the wake of the Trump Administration’s recent actions?
There are lots of questions swirling about, including: How will tariffs on imported components affect project costs and will there be indirect reactions to these tariffs? Is it the end of the IRA? Will pulling out of the Paris Agreement and other anti-ESG sentiments have downstream effects of lowering investment in renewables?
While it’s too soon to predict outcomes at this point, we’re confident that the renewable energy sector will remain strong as the need for more energy continues to grow and renewables offer the lowest cost to implement additional power for the grid. We continue to see strong interest in building new solar projects from investors and project partners. This is likely because the underlying tax policy and rules are well established, solar and renewables are still a tremendous value, and despite short-term disruptions it is clearly the long-term preferred choice for energy development.
Further Challenges at State levels
Norwich Solar operates in the Northern New England States of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
We maintain close ties to the states and communities we work within and have built solid relationships with utilities and other energy experts in the region. So we keep a close watch on current trends and potential policies at the state and local levels.
Here’s what we’re looking out for:
Maine - This year is shaping up to be a very active legislative session for Maine and we are monitoring several dockets that focus on energy within the state. We are working closely with MREA to find pathways forward to develop new policies that have net positive outcomes for ratepayers and renewable energy providers. Our Chief Commercial Officer, Brendan Malley is on the MREA board, and Jack Green, our Emerging Markets Engineer, has been following issues with interconnection studies and other issues with Central Maine Power.
New Hampshire - Overall NH is a more challenging market for solar development. New Hampshire’s legislators have not prioritized policy that encourages more renewable energy generation, and the Net Metering incentives are highly volatile. There is also uncertainty for the future of Net Metering over the next decade or more. From NH Business Review: “The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (NHPUC) in an early December decision let net metering stand at its current rate but left no assurances of what the future — if any — there is for continuing net metering. As it is, New Hampshire currently has the lowest net metering reimbursement rate in New England.” As such, we don’t have a lot of activity in our development pipeline in the Granite State, but we’re always keeping our eyes and ears open for future opportunities, whether they are large commercial rooftops, community solar projects, or EPC work...
Vermont - Here in VT we have some similar concerns about the future of Net Metering, but the recently adopted updated Renewable Energy Standard brings us hope. The bill passed in 2024 set the requirement for Vermont to reach 100% renewable energy. There are several other factors that make solar development viable into the future including Net Energy Metering and tax incentives. NT is a long-standing and committed member of Renewable Energy Vermont (REV) and we work closely with their policy committee to provide feedback on state policy and offer expert guidance as needed.
How We’re Approaching These Issues
The reality is that we're still dealing with quite a bit of uncertainty. But as a company, Norwich Technologies has been evaluating the potential impacts and risks and are certain there are many viable options for renewable energy development. Most of the aforementioned issues are NOT deemed to be insurmountable. Investment in solar energy projects continues to show favorable returns and provide valuable benefits for a variety of stakeholders..
Going through some old new clippings in our archives, I found an article originally published in the Valley News from 2018 that included comments from our own CEO Jim Merriam, talking about the previous Trump administrations 30% tariffs on solar panels. At the time we were a company of 35 people, now we’re at 42 strong.
We’re confident we can navigate this again.
This time around we’ve been actively working to ‘safe harbor’ many projects and their tax credit viability by placing orders for materials and breaking ground wherever feasible.
We also work with our suppliers to ensure stable pricing for our projects. Fortunately, most of our suppliers are based in the US, and much of the materials we buy are US made, such as racking and panels, which currently qualifies for the additional 10% Domestic Content tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). In terms of Domestic Content we’re in a much different situation from where we were in 2018. US manufacturing has ramped up significantly in the past several years, again thanks to the IRA, proving that well-crafted legislation with valuable incentives definitely lead to more energy independence and less reliance on fossil fuels and energy imports.
In the case of federal funding being halted for the VT NEVI funded EV chargers, of which our Norwich EV team was selected to install chargers in 5 out of the 11 towns, we are hopeful that federal funding returns or that state funding will allow some of them to still proceed. To continue the rapid adoption of EVs, we need to continue to grow our charging infrastructure for Vermonters and visitors alike.
While the signals at the national level offer an excuse for some businesses and investors to renege on climate commitments, Norwich Technologies aligns ourselves with those deeply committed to making substantial improvements to the wellbeing of the planet and people, while benefiting strong local economies.
This March joined VBSR and other business leaders at the Vermont Statehouse to support climate action.
What YOU Can Do
If renewable energy and mitigating climate change is important to you, we encourage you to talk to your local, state and national elected officials. Too often the only voices they hear are naysayers and lobbyists from oil and gas. As ratepayers, we all have a voice when it comes to transitioning our energy systems to cleaner and more reliable sources.
What about the bright side of solar? Click here to read