The U.S. solar industry is banking on a former Republican governor to help win over the MAGA wing of the party and improve relations with a Trump administration that has rolled back support for clean energy.
Tim Pawlenty, the former two-term Minnesota governor, took the helm last month at the Solar Energy Industries Association — just as the incentives that have helped make it the fastest-growing source of electricity in the United States begin to phase out.
“As a conservative Republican, I think I can help build bridges with Republicans and get this thing back to a more reasonable discussion,” former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said on the POLITICO Energy podcast.
The sunsetting of the investment and production tax credits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law last year and the crackdown on imports of solar equipment have come at a perilous time for the solar sector.
