EmPower solar energy company closing, citing loss of federal tax credit

EmPower Solar, one of Long Island’s largest and most-established solar rooftop and battery installers, has laid off its workforce and is in the final stages of winding down operations, just months after the federal government ended a vital solar tax credit, an official said.

David Schieren, founder and chief executive, on Monday said a letter went out last week to the company’s thousands of customers, informing them of the decision and service referrals. The company, founded in 2003, once had annual sales volume of $45 million and 150 employees. It has installed more than 5,000 solar rooftop systems, he said.

Schieren said the "most acute" factor influencing the decision was the Trump administration’s decision to end a 30% federal tax credit for residential rooftop applications at the end of 2025.

"We just didn’t have any sales after that ended," he said. "We couldn’t continue operating our business."

EmPower, which had moved from its longtime headquarters in Island Park to its warehouse in Farmingdale, is working with Marcor Construction of West Babylon and its Marcor Solar affiliate to refer future business and service questions.

EmPower, which was one of the first solar workforces to face unionization efforts, had reduced its headcount to around 50 workers earlier this year from more than 150 at the height of business.

About 15 former EmPower workers have since joined Marcor, said Michael Corpis, who formerly worked for EmPower and is now project manager for Marcor, a construction company with a solar division that also specializes in roofing.

EmPower is exiting the market just as another big Long Island solar installer, SUNation Energy, last week marked its 10,000th solar rooftop installation. The Crespo family of Oakdale may have been among the last to get the $10,000-plus benefit of the 30% federal tax credit for solar rooftops, which ended in December, when their system was installed. Along with a new roof, it can cover more than a third of a system’s total cost of $20,000 to $40,000.

SUNation chief Scott Maskin, pointing to sales declines across the United States of 20% to 40% since January, said he has been having "meaningful discussions" with top LIPA and PSEG officials "about navigating a job-saving and meaningful path to support the solar local industry on Long Island" in the absence of the federal tax credit.

He said SUNation expects to survive the lost residential sales by having a "diversified business" which also includes a service business and commercial sales. 

EmPower last year spun off its commercial business as a consulting company called Solar Exchange, which continues to operate independently. Schieren also stepped down as chairman of the New York Solar Energy Industries Association, a solar advocacy group.

Schieren said he remains optimistic for the solar industry and the eventual transition away from fossil fuels to green energy. "This is still the early stages of this energy transition," he said. "Energy transitions take 50 to 100 years."

Schieren and EmPower helped make Long Island the largest solar market in New York State. In the LIPA service territory, nearly one in 10 customers now have solar panels on their roofs. The company also helped grow the presence of battery storage in the market.

Jonathan Cohen, policy director for NYSEIA, praised Schieren as "a genius" and said he remains "optimistic" about the future of the solar industry, despite the loss of the federal residential credit and "friendly fire" from New York State policies. NYSEIA is pushing the state to pass a bill called the Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power Act which would reform the solar interconnection process to reduce costs and red tape, while increasing state targets for solar installs.

"At its core, what we’re doing is driving down energy costs and that’s exactly what people need right now," Cohen said.

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.