One of the biggest obstacles to deploying solar and other forms of renewable energy is legal. SEIA, the Solar Energy Industries Association, is a national non-profit trade association of more than 1,000 member companies that works to address this barrier in the United States. The organization—which includes major solar companies such as SolarCity, SunPower, and First Solar—recently sent a letter to Congress calling for the extension of the Section 48 and Section 25D solar investment tax credits (ITC). With bipartisan support, the ITC is considered to be one of the most successful clean energy tax policies ever created.
The letter draws attention to the fact that tax credits will begin dropping by the end of this year, and how it will harm the country's path towards using renewable energy. Policies like the ITC directly and immediately affect the solar market, and any changes to it are bound to affect patent activity as well. Given that its members collectively have more than 200 patent documents in the Thin Film Photovoltaics sector, Congress's decision will play an important role in encouraging or discouraging future patent activity in this space.
