The midterms are over, and the headlines write themselves. Control of Congress has changed hands. Leaders of the incoming majority have already promised to bring back the clean energy tax credits that were cut last year. Plenty of people in our industry woke up on Wednesday feeling relieved. 

I understand the feeling. But I don’t think the election is the most important story for clean energy right now. The more important story is what our industry did over the past year, when almost nobody in Washington was on our side. 

A year ago, the federal tax credits for solar were on their way out, and many expected a wave of distress across the sector. Some of that came. But most of the industry did what businesses do. We adjusted. 

This fall, CleanCapital co-hosted a forum during Climate Week NYC with the Business Council for Sustainable Energy. In the room were investors, financiers, corporate buyers, developers, industry groups and others from across the renewable energy sector. Most of them said conditions feel better today than they did a year ago. That is not what you would expect from an industry that just lost essentially all of its federal support. 

The adjustment has not been free. Companies spent much of the year on safe harbor strategies, racing to lock in projects before deadlines. Diligence now reaches well beyond the old 5% test, into foreign entity rules and material assistance ratios, with key guidance still pending. Every hour spent on that is an hour not spent building. 

The solar tax credit was expanded in 2022, cut in 2025, and promised back in 2026. The projects we build can take three to five years to develop and last 25 to 35 years. Policy that changes every two to four years is very hard to build around. 

Let me be clear: the ITC matters. For many projects, it is the difference between viable and not. But how it comes back matters as much as whether it does. If it passes on a party-line vote, it is the same whiplash in the other direction. It lasts until the next majority, and then we do this all over again. 

What this industry needs is a credit that lasts, because both parties own it. Stability lowers the cost of capital. Lower capital costs mean lower prices for the customers and communities we serve. That is a case both parties should be able to support. 

There is work to do on that front. Many of the Republican members who championed clean energy in Congress will not be back in January. If we want a credit that lasts, our industry has to earn new champions on both sides of the aisle. That starts now. 

Clean energy used to run partly on goodwill, based on the clear climate case for renewables. Those days are over, and frankly, I think that’s fine. We do not need goodwill. We have demand. 

After a decade of flat electricity use, U.S. demand is up about 2% year over year. Estimates suggest the country will need 50 to 90% more generating capacity by 2050. Data centers get the headlines, and they matter, but they are only a few percent of load today and might reach about 10%. The rest is coming from everywhere: electrification of commercial and industrial buildings, reshoring of manufacturing, and automation. This is broad, distributed demand, and it is not going away. 

When demand grows this fast, the question every utility, business and governor asks is simple: how fast can you get power on the grid? 

Solar and storage are the fastest answer we have. Gas has a role, and I’m not here to argue against it. But turbine and equipment backlogs mean new gas plants announced today won’t deliver power for years. Solar and storage can be built and connected in a fraction of that time. 

And it isn’t only about generating more electricity. It’s about capacity: having power available in the hours the grid is most stretched. Hot summer afternoons, cold winter evenings, and now data centers that need power around the clock all test the same limit. Battery storage turns solar into power that shows up when demand peaks, and standalone storage can add capacity to a strained grid faster than almost any alternative. For utilities and data center developers facing new large loads, capacity is what they’re shortest on, and it’s exactly what solar and storage can deliver quickly. 

Speed is also how you protect ratepayers. When supply can’t keep up with demand, prices rise, and families, small businesses, schools and towns pay the bill. The fastest way to keep power affordable is to add capacity quickly. That’s what we do. 

And yes, it’s clean. To us and many of our customers that matters a great deal. But the case for solar and storage over the next decade will be carried by speed, reliability, energy security and what customers want, not by climate benefits alone. 

The good news is that none of what’s needed is partisan. Responsible energy policy, in any state and under either party, comes down to a few principles: connect new supply to the grid faster, pay resources for the value they actually provide, make sure the costs of growth land on those driving it rather than on households, and give communities clear, consistent rules for how projects are built and kept safe. 

Above all, it means stability. Investors can price almost any rule. What we can’t price is a rule that might reverse in two years. The states and lawmakers who set a clear direction and stick to it will attract more investment, faster, at a lower cost to the people they serve. 

Our industry has to do its part. That means building relationships with Republicans and Democrats alike, and making sure the people making these decisions understand how our business works. It means engaging communities from day one, not after a project is announced. And it means being honest about safety, decommissioning and risk. A single bad project can cost local support far from where it happened. 

At CleanCapital, we will keep doing that work in every state where we operate, regardless of who holds office. 

The country needs more power, and it needs it fast. The tools to deliver it are ready today. To the new members arriving in Washington and in state capitals this January, from either party: we want to work with you. Let’s build energy policy that lasts longer than an election cycle, so the companies supplying America’s power can focus on building it.