Morgan Caplan No BG Headshot

Morgan Caplan
Senior Communications Manager

Today’s Executive Q&A interview is a bit different. We’re sharing a candid conversation with the leader of a community-scale solar and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) developer/owner-operator. In order to share this important and timely message while protecting their sensitive business interests, we’ve allowed the executive and company to remain anonymous, although we at Echo know and can attest to who they are.

We spoke with this executive last night over email as the Senate vote-a-rama was well underway:

Could you describe your company and what it does?

We are a community-scale solar and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) developer that has been in business for over a decade. We specialize in developing, constructing, and operating commercial solar, community solar, and solar-plus-storage projects across multiple states. We’ve made it through many law changes at the state and federal levels over the past decade. This time is different because it’s not about a rational business approach; it’s an ideological attack you cannot avoid by adjusting a business plan.

How would the legislation moving through Congress affect your business?

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) has already devastated our business. Like most other industries, we rely on outside capital to fund the business. For solar developers, that often means we borrow against a pipeline of projects we’re working on. Because the OBBB so catastrophically and retroactively changed the rules of the game, our lenders couldn’t be sure we could sell the projects we were developing. As a result, they, understandably, couldn’t extend additional capital. That forced us to lay off over 90% of our company, where just a month ago, we had plans to double the size of our company over the next 18 months. Those were good, high-paying jobs that Congress destroyed overnight.

I had been in Washington a number of times over the weeks leading up to the House OBBB vote, fighting to protect the Investment Tax Credits. We, along with the entire industry, have a lot at stake. Our company had signed a term sheet for a significant quantum of additional capital that was critical for our business operations. We had a meeting scheduled with our finance partners on the afternoon of May 22 to negotiate the financing documents.

While in Washington, I received a copy of the proposed House managers amendment the evening of May 21. I read that and knew that it was going to be a disaster for our industry if it passed as written. Sure enough, the managers amendment was introduced overnight and the bill with the amendment passed the House around 7 AM the morning of May 22. The next morning, our financing partner pulled the funding as a direct result of the OBBB. Our plans to double the size of our business, create dozens of new jobs, bring solar to low income communities, and secure the funding we needed to continue, vaporized overnight.

Given the turmoil and chaos the OBBB caused in our industry, the capital markets paused and adopted a wait-and-see approach. There was some hope a more level-headed Senate would reset some of the draconian House provisions. That has not happened, and in fact, the Senate version has made it worse for our industry. We’ve been forced, directly by Congress, to pivot from expansion mode to laying everyone off and selling everything to get out while we still can.

In the course of one fateful evening in Washington, we went from securing a large quantum of capital for our business to hoping we can make it out of the burning building in one piece. I’m writing this as the Senate is still in their vote-a-rama session. I hope others can learn from our experience and do the best they can to re-organize in the chaos. This won’t be good for any of us, and certainly not good for America.

Which provisions are most concerning, and why?

The Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) and excise tax provisions, along with placed in service by 2027, are devastating. The Senate version requires construction to begin by December 31, 2025 for other types of energy projects to avoid the FEOC restrictions, but by June 16, 2025 for wind and solar. Since virtually all solar panels contain components from abroad, just like everything else we buy, including the phone or computer you’re reading this on and the coffee you drank this morning, this creates an impossible situation.

The accelerated timeline is also crushing. Moving the placed-in-service deadline from 2028 to 2027 might sound like a small change, but in solar development, every month matters. Projects take years to develop, permit, and construct. With these compressed timelines, combined with the June 16, 2025 FEOC restrictions, Congress crushed everything we’ve worked for years on building so people could have low-cost power.

What’s particularly frustrating is that other energy technologies get more favorable treatment and longer timelines, while solar and wind, the fastest-growing, lowest-cost energy source, face the most restrictive provisions.

What message do you want to share with legislators right now?

Legislators need to understand that this isn’t just about policy—it’s about real people, real communities, and the chance to win the AI race, the space race of our age. We’ve had to look our employees in the eye and tell them they no longer have jobs purely because of decisions made in Washington. There is no “you should have planned better” here. We had plans according to the rules in place and contingency plans for a stepdown in ITCs. This is wholesale retroactive obliteration. These are skilled workers, engineers, project managers, and administrative staff who can’t find another job in the industry because there will be very little industry left.

The irony is that at a time when electricity rates are projected to rise 15-40% over the next five years, Congress is dismantling the very incentives for low-cost energy. Solar is the lowest-cost electricity source in most of the country, and these provisions will make electricity more expensive for everyone.

My message to legislators is simple: if you want to reduce energy costs for families and businesses, if you want to create American jobs, and if you want to strengthen our energy security, then don’t kill the solar industry with impossible deadlines and supply chain restrictions. Work with us to find solutions that protect national security and our ability to win the AI race.

Know someone who should be featured? Email us: info@echocomms.com.

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