On Tuesday, to our immense relief as solar advocates, President Obama signed into law a stimulus package with healthy provisions for clean energy, including solar.

All technical discussion aside, the San Francisco Chronicle has a great story about the assist the stimulus will lend to residential solar. Solar in the home will be a big growth area in the next few years, and it’s great news to know that the stimulus made it through the gamut of not one, but two trips through both houses of Congress, not to mention the attention of a president with significant clout. It’s a clear sign that there’s legislative weight behind the significant, large-scale carbon reform that will allow solar to break further into the mainstream.

For more great news, here’s the American Solar Energy Society’s letter to its subscribers on the stimulus:

Friends of ASES,

With the stroke of a pen President Obama has rewritten the future of solar energy.

Now signed into law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides billions in investments to increase the use of solar energy, promote energy efficiency, improve financing options and remove market barriers.

This legislation provides powerful investments to accelerate the U.S. towards a sustainable energy economy.

Key provisions of this legislation include:

* Solar and energy efficient improvements for federal buildings
* Solar water heating incentives, removing the $2000 cap on the 30% personal tax credit (excludes pools and hot tubs)
* Green-collar job training programs
* Ending the state and municipal ‘subsidized financing penalty’
* Smart grid investments
* Expanding research and development programs for renewable energy and energy efficiency

This legislation also funds solar and energy efficient upgrades for schools, solar grant alternatives to the investment tax credit, solar manufacturer incentives, and other historic investments.

You can read or search the text of this legislation (HR 1) here.

We applaud the incredible efforts of our colleagues at SEIA, Solar Nation, and the many passionate individuals throughout the solar community who added their voices of support in the weeks leading up to the signing of this legislation.

There’s still a long way to go, but this legislation provides a tremendous step forward that will help generate green jobs, reduce energy costs, tackle climate change and power the new energy economy for years to come.

With sincere thanks,

Brad Collins,
Executive Director,
American Solar Energy Society

Pretty exciting stuff. As a last note before I leave, I can’t emphasize enough that Adam’s right – as if you needed my reminder. Make yourself a fan of ours on Facebook. It’s a free way to spread awareness of the technology that is going to help us out in countless ways over the upcoming years.