Solar tax credits are set to expire next year, but new bills in the house and senate would keep the credits until 2015. Ending the tax credits is unlikely given the current political interest towards addressing climate change. Another seven years of tax credits would guarantee more investments in solar manufacturing facilities.

If passed, the bills (now known as H.R. 550 and S. 590) would "create approximately 55,000 solar industry jobs by 2016... displace four trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and save American consumers $32 billion," according to Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association.

The bills are like to pass. Californian representative Adam Schiff said he'll support the measure. Schiff recently visited Soliant Energy, a solar company that says it can make solar cost competitive with coal-powered electricity without incentives. Soliant is targeting generating electricity at a cost of $.06 per kilowatt hour without incentives within three years. Now that would be a game changing achievement.