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Solar energy industry rallying to keep rebates

Solar panels on Heidel Hollow Farms in Germansville, Pa. Like this farm, some in Missouri are usual solar power
Lance Cheung for USDA
/
Flickr
Solar panels on Heidel Hollow Farms in Germansville, Pa. Like this farm, some in Missouri are usual solar power

Missouri's solar energy industry is rallying to resurrect a popular rebate program created by a 2008 renewable-energy ballot initiative that was curtailed when the state's largest utility said it had to cease participation to avoid rate increases capped by the voter-approved law.

The Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association says its members will have to lay off thousands of workers if state lawmakers or the Missouri Public Service Commission don't make further fixes to an incentive program that provided customers who installed solar rooftop panels up to $50,000 in rebates. 
With one week remaining in the state's annual legislative session, solar company owners held a Monday morning news conference at Schlafly Bottleworks. The Maplewood brewery installed a solar roof several years ago.
 

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