If you follow Texas energy, you probably follow Doug Lewin. Our CEO, Bret Biggart, had the honor of being on Doug’s Energy Capital podcast, where they talked about how we got into the solar business, how companies are pivoting as the Trump administration revokes consumer tax credits, and the importance of reducing energy waste through more efficient HVAC systems.
You can listen to the whole thing here: Energy Capital Podcast: Beyond the Tax Credit Cliff with Freedom Solar CEO Bret Biggart.
Here are some highlights (tweaked a bit for clarity).
Doug: We are obviously now in this sort of post-One Big Beautiful Bill reality — that has put this very aggressive sunset on the tax credits. The question I think everybody has on their minds: what is the biggest solar installer in Texas doing to kind of adjust to that new reality?
Bret: I’ll just paraphrase – the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act’s biggest impact is the 30% tax credit going away at the end of this year for residential projects. So it’s sort of a dramatic cliff, right? The expectation of what is going to happen to the market, it sort of ranges from a 60 to 70% cliff, in terms of drop of demand, starting in 2026. So that is certainly the scary big 800-pound gorilla that we deal with in business.Today we’re recording solar was 40% of the Texas grid for four, five, six hours today. So as solar projects fall, the renewable stuff at scaleslows down and you are forced to use natural gas in most cases to power much of the state. The price of power goes up. And so as the price of power goes up, you see this offset to the 30% tax credit that will happen at some time in the future. Every utility in Texas that we operate in estimates a 5% increase in electricity prices next year. … So, you know, how to get from here to there is our tactical question as an entrepreneur. And the solar industry has done a great job of surviving. There’s sort of a cockroach mentality — and I include myself in that — which is a will to survive no matter how difficult the situation may be.
Doug: A couple of months ago, you guys launched Freedom HVAC. I’m really interested in this. Talk a little about your thinking behind being a solar company to now also being solar and HVAC.
Bret: We’re putting kilowatt hours on the roof through a solar system, but you’re consuming the same amount of electricity in most cases. And oftentimes, you’ve got an HVAC solution that is very old or antiquated — it’s a single speed and super inefficient. It’s like building a race car and putting a souped-up motor, which would be your solar system, but then putting old tires on it.It’s not going to go that great.
On average, 52% of your electricity consumption is your HVAC. If you have an energy-efficient home — you have a solar system on the roof and a heat pump that’s heating and cooling it, and you’ve got a little backup storage — you have a great solution. That is going to take away the worry about storms, electric bills, and other things. … It just fits together perfectly in my mind — the solution is on your roof and inside your home. And it fits our skill set: we can apply those same things to the HVAC world to explain higher efficiency solutions that are available for customers. And our customers tend to understand that stuff.
Doug: I think the other major tailwind is that resiliency piece. … The consumer, I think rightly, is seeing it as if there (extreme weather that causes widespread blackouts) and I’ve got solar and storage in my house, I’m going to be all right. So there is a value to resilience.
Bret: The number one reason people go solar: energy independence. The idea that I can control my destiny is a really innate thing. And it’s certainly a Texas thing. There’s more and more that’s becoming available to suit that solution.