EIS Solar workers Darron Evans, Gio Boliziani, and Sean O’Kelley install solar panels on a home Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Franklin Park. (Photo by Caleb Kaufman/PublicSource)

By Ember Duke, PublicSource

Players in Pennsylvania’s solar industry are concerned that President Donald Trump’s signature  “One Big, Beautiful Bill” clouds the sector’s future for years to come and could threaten job losses. 

Pittsburgh-based solar energy installer Energy Independent Solutions [EIS] focuses on commercial projects, but it also has a team of around 10 residential installation employees. The bill passed by the U.S. House last month, which Trump wants the Senate to approve by July 4, threatens all of their jobs, said the firm’s president Joe Morinville.

“We won’t be able to sell residential power,” Morinville said. “That’s going to be a crushing blow” for the industry.

Solar has been hot in Pennsylvania.

• Roughly 6,000 people work in the industry, according to a 2024 report by the Department of Energy. 
• The industry has seen $93.6 million in new investment since 2022, according to the 2025 Climate Power Report. 
• The number of new solar projects grew by 160% in recent years, according to a 2023 press release by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. 

The bill, which may face challenges in the Senate, would roll back the 30% tax credits for residential and commercial solar installment that were introduced as part of the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act [IRA] by the end of the year.

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Ember Duke is a recent graduate of Duquesne University and one of 10 Pittsburgh Media Partnership summer interns.