Hawaii Gov. Josh Green on Friday signed an executive order preserving solar tax credits for 2026 amid fears that a state tax law amending the incentives could imperil more than $400 million of ongoing projects.
Lawmakers last month passed a law that reduced tax credits for commercial-scale and rooftop solar systems, capping the amount available each year before ending them entirely in 2030. Those changes were written to apply retroactively to the start of 2026, meaning that projects already under development this year could have lost state credits already baked into their financing.
The executive order signed by Green, a Democrat, exempts any project from the tax changes if it was completed by May 21 or if the project’s developer can prove it “reasonably relied” on the promise of credits when putting together financing before that date. The order does not extend credits for any other projects, nor does it make any other changes to the 2030 phase-out.
“Families, businesses and non-profits with solar have been able to cut their electricity bills by hundreds of dollars per month,” Rocky Mould, executive director of the Hawaii Solar Energy Association, said in a statement applauding the order. “With each installation, Hawaiʻi’s grid becomes cleaner and more resilient — community by community, rooftop by rooftop.”
