The solar industry is no stranger to change. But the policy turbulence over the past year moved at a speed leaving even the most experienced leaders scratching our heads.

In mere months, the conversation shifted from accelerating clean energy adoption to pulling back the very incentives that helped the industry grow. As part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the 30% federal tax credit for homeowners to install residential solar disappeared on January 1, 2026, with no step-down period. For renewable energy companies, that creates a familiar but uncomfortable question: What happens when the rules change overnight?

As a founder, I’ve learned that you can’t build a company assuming external conditions will always move in your favor, no matter what industry you’re in. Markets change. Policies evolve. Customer expectations shift. Companies that can create value even when the tides change dramatically are the ones who will survive these moments.

That’s the mindset we’re taking at Aurora Solar today, and it’s the mindset I’d recommend for not just clean energy leaders, but leaders in any space.

Innovation was always going to determine the industry’s future

Government incentives played an important role in helping solar reach more homeowners. They accelerated adoption, created jobs, and helped prove residential solar could scale. But incentives were never meant to be the industry’s endgame. They were ripped away too quickly and with too little warning, but let’s be clear: They always had an expiration date.

Long-term growth always depended on providing clear value to homeowners, and that means making solar easier to buy, easier to install, and easier to trust. Relying solely on policy to make the economics work is a recipe for failure in the long run. Unfortunately, some solar companies became overly dependent on subsidies and failed to see the forest for the trees. I’d argue times of policy support should be used to build for a postincentives future: to improve technology, reduce costs, and make the customer experience the best it can be.

That’s how you build a resilient business—and a resilient industry, for that matter.

Every industry eventually reaches a point where external conditions become less favorable. Companies then face a choice: spend their energy wishing for the old market to return, or adapt to the one in front of them.

History shows that those who adapt to changes usually win out. Just ask Netflix as the streaming economy took off, or any number of digitally oriented restaurants after the pandemic.

Difficult markets reveal what customers actually value

Times of uncertainty have always changed how people make decisions, and the last year has been no exception for solar.

When homeowners feel confident about the economy and financials of the deal, they move quickly. But introduce a hint of uncertainty—whether because of interest rates, policy changes, or broader economic conditions—and they begin to ask more questions. They scrutinize every detail and become far more selective about who they trust.

That’s not a bad thing. In fact, I think it’s a sign of the industry’s maturity.

One of the trends supported by recent research is that homeowners continue to express strong interest in solar, but trust remains one of the biggest barriers to adoption. Consumers want greater transparency around projected savings, financing options, installation quality, and long-term value before committing to one of the largest financial decisions they’ll make for their home.

That tells me something important.

The companies that emerge stronger from this period won’t necessarily be the ones offering the lowest price. They’ll be the ones who deliver the clearest information, most accurate proposals, and confidence in the longevity of their business for years after the installation is complete.

Technology has a major role to play by helping installers with the fine details. It can produce faster quotes, model energy production more accurately, and create a more transparent buying experience from the introduction.

Trust is becoming one of the industry’s biggest competitive advantages because it directly addresses what consumers fear most: losing their money on a poor investment.

Sharpening priorities

During periods of growth, it seems as though every opportunity may work out. When markets tighten, though, priorities become much clearer.

At Aurora Solar, we’ve doubled down on the problems that matter most for our customers. We’re focused on helping installers operate more efficiently and reduce costly errors by improving the accuracy and explainability of solar-plus-storage system designs and proposals. These are the ways we can make it easier for homeowners to understand exactly what they’re buying, which emerged as a core trust issue.

Those aren’t flashy innovations, but they’re made with the consumer in mind. Companies with the greatest staying power often win because they obsess over the fundamentals while others are chasing the next headline.

The same principle applies across the entire business landscape.

Whether you’re building software, manufacturing products, or leading a clean energy company, difficult markets force discipline. They encourage better decisions, stronger products, and a deeper focus on customer value.

No founder asks for uncertainty. But uncertainty has a way of revealing what’s truly important.

The need for affordable energy hasn’t gone away

It’s easy to focus on today’s policy headlines and lose sight of the bigger picture.

Electricity demand continues to rise at record levels: this summer alone, by over 10% compared with last year. AI is driving unprecedented data center growth. Manufacturing is expanding. Homeowners are looking for greater control over their energy costs. Communities are becoming more focused on resilience and energy independence.

At the same time, consistent policy pressure is creating new “solar deserts,” or communities where clean energy remains technically possible, but financially out of reach. If incentives disappear faster than the industry can lower costs or simplify adoption, those that could benefit the most from lower energy bills won’t be able to access them.

This is especially frustrating because solar experienced the highest global growth among all energy sources last year, highlighting its massive potential. But just as solar is proving its value at scale, the economics for homeowners shifted almost overnight, causing hesitation among consumers despite the clear need for reliable, affordable power.

The OBBBA dealt us a blow, but our industry has proven its resilience time and again. It will bounce back because our leaders are focused on the future, not the past.

Leadership matters most when conditions change

Many founders have experienced that day. The day they realize the assumptions that shaped their business no longer hold. That the ground has shifted under their feet.

This is an important leadership test. I believe that resilience isn’t about predicting every market shift correctly. It’s about building organizations that can adapt when those shifts inevitably arrive. Because they will.

For the solar industry, this period will be challenging. Some companies have already shut down, while many others have struggled to reduce their reliance on an expired tax credit. Some others will emerge stronger. I’m optimistic we’ll be among the latter. Not because I expect the market to become easier, but because I believe innovation has always been the industry’s most durable advantage.

In the end, the companies that define the next chapter of solar won’t be remembered for how well they navigated government incentives. They’ll be remembered for how well they served customers when incentives alone were no longer enough.