2025 Clean Energy Credit Opportunities

Written By Chloë Miller

written by Alejandra Peña, Client Experience Lead

Go Solar NOW and buy an EV YESTERDAY (or before September 30th).

The Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funded climate change mitigation projects for citizens and companies to scale future-oriented technologies across our energy system. The Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) passed in July eliminated energy credits five years ahead of their 2030 expiration date and has obliterated America’s policy attempt to scale our decarbonization efforts. Compared to the catastrophic theft of our social safety net (food, childcare, and housing for moms and kids, healthcare for rural communities and elders, housing access during a houselessness crisis, support for student loans) we’re mad/sad that our Clean Energy Credits will now expire in phases. Thankfully we can still take personal action!

Check out the NYTimes How Can I get Clean Energy Tax Breaks Before They Vanish? for all the background and details on rebates and Home Energy updates.

And! Avoid any issues by making sure your dealership files the paperwork!


Here’s Modernist’s short and sweet version of what most families are considering:

Buy or LeasE an Electric Vehicle 

The Federal Clean Vehicle tax credit is ending on September 30, 2025. Run, don’t walk to the nearest tax credit-wielding dealership! The federal tax credit is worth $7,500 for new vehicles and $4,000 for used vehicles. Take a look at PlugStar’s dealership search in your area for participating dealers:

To purchase a car and get the tax credit there are income thresholds for qualifying, as well as vehicle cost requirements, so be sure you and the vehicle you select are eligible for the tax credit. Dealerships are registered with the IRS and can show you the cost savings at purchase, so you don’t have to wait for tax filing next April. If you are leasing an EV there are no income or vehicle requirements as the credit goes to the dealership. You’ll see the tax credit savings applied by the dealership right away. 

A local Portland dealership had a helpful countdown going- which was at 11 days at the time of the writing of this article.


Here’s what to know about getting a last-minute deal on an electric vehicle:

  • Deals vary by region

  • Best deals typically require excellent credit and may favor returning lessees or competitive brand switchers

  • There are lots of specific financing options for the EV/Hybrid vehicle space 

    •  0% APR lease deals 

    • Cash purchase discounts and bonuses

    • Conquest programs- trading in a different make car (Bye Bye, Tesla!)

    • Program Loyalty- trading in the same make of car 

    • Membership discounts, for example Costco members get discounts on GM brands

If you are interested in purchasing or leasing an EV or Hybrid, do your research this weekend! Here are two websites that help you dig into your options:

And finally, double check your paperwork and confirm your dealership will make your credit happen

Install a Residential Solar Array

The reasons to generate solar power at home remain the same from my 2022 blog post: the satisfaction of using clean renewable energy to fuel your home, increasing the generation capacity of your local utility using green energy, and participating in the Deep Electrification movement to reduce greenhouse gases. I installed a solar array for my home in Milwaukie and highlighted in the blog post why solar is a good option for homeowners, even in the grey clime of the Willamette Valley.

Sidebar: Here’s a Reason’s to be Cheerful article about the amazing work Bordeaux is doing to solarize. 

What is proving even more true now than a few years ago is a solar array is a way to hedge against rising electricity prices. This year we’ve already seen the monthly household impact on electricity prices of increasing data centers in our region; we’re likely to see electricity price hikes under the OBBBA tax cuts, too.

Locally, PGE customers have and will continue to weather annual hikes:

What’s generating urgency for residential solar is the expiration of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Residential Solar Tax Credit of 30% on December 31, 2025.

The OBBBA shortened this tax credit from expiration in 2032 to 2025, reducing popular adoption of this climate change mitigating technology. 

Bottom line: the reasons to get Solar NOW are both political (tax credits) and practical (energy prices, climate change mitigation).

Solar panels are largely made outside the US, so tariff variability will likely continue to impact wholesale solar panel prices. Other parts of the array like the racking that holds the panels are frequently made in the US, so you likely won’t see a direct percentage increase on the total bill for a solar array installation. If you’re installing now, you may find a vendor that has invested in inventory that arrived prior to tariff price volatility. 

Like every person and business in the world, you cannot plan based on the unknown future costs of importing goods!Tariffs may impact the price of solar panels. When getting bids from contractors be sure to ask how they foresee tariffs could impact the cost of your installation. 

Act Now:

The reason to act NOW is you’ll need to work with an installer who can install the panels by December 31st, 2025 to get the solar tax credit on your 2025 Tax Return. It’s a bonus if they have access to inventory that isn’t impacted by the tariffs. 

Next Steps:

  • Check out Energy Trust of Oregon’s Trade Ally Contractor list for knowledgeable and reputable solar installers who have completed Energy Trust’s training and are clear on the incentives, along with installation quality requirements.

Use your local utility to find a good contractor

Here is a list of known scams that Energy Trust has identified. Some of the door-to-door sales vendors and social media ads promising free solar panels in your zip code are explored here.

Community-owned Solar

If a residential solar array isn’t right for you, consider investing in your local community-owned solar infrastructure. There are exciting and collaborative Community Solar Programs emerging that allow everyone to invest in solar and take advantage of solar energy prices. 

  • The Oregon Community Solar Program allows a household to subscribe to a fractional share of a solar project. This means your household supports solar generation without the upfront costs of an array or the need to own a home and have sun exposed roof space.

  • Sign up for an Oregon Solar Project, pay a subscription fee, and receive a bill credit on your utility bill. Here is a calculator to estimate your cost savings, but work with a subscription manager to right size your subscription to your household use rates. 

  • For income-qualifying folks, there are additional discounts that reduces utility bills even more and ensures access to green energy.

If it’s worth it to you to look into residential solar, get your hustle on! Otherwise, consider how you can participate in a clean energy future through participating in your community infrastructure.

Go forth and go green!

Chloë Miller https://www.chloemillerpdx.com
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