Public advocates and Austin Energy staff urged the Utility Oversight Committee on Oct. 7 to accelerate residential solar pathways and related workforce supports as the 30% residential federal tax credit approaches expiration at the end of 2025.

Kaiba White, representing Public Citizen’s Texas office, told the committee she has participated in stakeholder meetings for the residential solar standard-offer program and asked council to “support getting this program up and running by January” and to “provide the same level of support for residential solar through this program as Austin Energy currently does through its residential solar programs.” White said timing matters because installations under some third-party ownership models can qualify for commercial tax incentives that extend through 2027 — and in select circumstances through 2029 if construction starts by July 4, 2026. “Timing is of essence,” White said.

Interim General Manager Stuart Riley and other staff described existing and planned program paths. Riley said Austin Energy launched a commercial solar standard-offer program in January; staff reported 11 projects in the queue totaling 6.26 megawatts and an additional 14 projects under consideration totaling about 9 megawatts. He said the residential standard-offer program is “under development” and that staff are evaluating consumer protections and aggregation approaches to achieve economies of scale.

Council members asked about leasing structures that would preserve eligibility for the commercial tax incentive while allowing rooftop deployments. Riley said Austin Energy has looked at solar leasing and believes the industry is mature enough to merit a city program structured as an equipment lease so the commercial tax credits can apply. Because Austin Energy is the sole electricity provider in its service area, staff said such programs must be structured “purely as an equipment lease” while including protections such as production guarantees and operational provisions for maintenance and defaults. Riley told the committee staff could provide an update at the next committee meeting and work toward a program that could be operational in “a few more months.”

The committee also heard that the nationwide Solar for All grant — a roughly $7 billion federal program — was put on stop work by the EPA and that the Texas coalition’s $250 million award (Austin Energy’s portion approximately $32 million) has been halted. Riley said Austin Energy and the Texas coalition are assessing legal options and potential “irreparable harms” from the cancellation while continuing other residential and battery program work.

Council members emphasized workforce and installer community impacts from the tax-credit change. Staff noted Austin Energy invested about $100 million in local solar programs historically and recorded 18.9 megawatts of new local solar in fiscal 2025, its highest year to date. Staff also called attention to a stalled landfill project managed by Austin Resource Recovery and urged follow-up before tax credits expire.

No formal committee vote was taken on program approvals at this meeting; council members asked staff to pursue leasing and to return with program updates.