Over the years, the energy industry has been sending out clear signals of solar power being the favored energy-generating technology of the future, and billions of dollars are being invested in new research and innovations. A quiet solar revolution is underway, and every business worth its salt is seeking to harness the Sun for its commercial benefit. For any person seeking a stable, steady and lucrative career with potential for growth, this translates into the solar energy industry now becoming more than ever before the place to be in.
That the government is fully engaged with the twin challenges of meeting increased energy demands coupled with an over-dependence on external sources for its fuel, is borne out by the slew of regulations that the US at both the Federal and state levels have enacted. The overall thrust of these regulations is to encourage the use of solar energy in residences and industries by offering tax credits, and make investments in clean energy bonds attractive.
A strong case in point is the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, a law that came into force on October 3, 2008. The regulators, despite their pressing concerns of reviving an economy going into a tailspin, managed to include in the Act a set of provisions whose major lead is the extension till 2016 of the commercial and residential solar investment tax credit (ITC) which reduces the tax liability (through the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) route) for individuals and businesses investing in solar energy generation technology. Further, the new law now creates a true thirty-percent tax credit for residential property that installs solar energy generating systems.
These and other regulations and laws have unleashed the power of the Sun in the energy-generation industry, and about USD $ 325 billion worth of private investment is all set to roll into this domain in the coming years. As residential and commercial premises place orders with contractors to install solar panels on their rooftops, the demand for solar panel installation contractors in all the 50 states will literally go through the roof. In a recent report on Green Job Initiatives by the United Nations, job creation in the renewable energy sector will see spectacular gain over the next 20 years.
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