The 30 percent federal investment tax credit for commercial solar ends for projects not placed in service by December 31, 2027. For a manufacturer weighing rooftop solar in early 2027, that turns a slow decision into a dated one. This session works through a single case: a 250 kW array on a North Carolina plant, priced from NREL cost benchmarks and EIA electricity prices, evaluated first the way a plant manager does it and then the way a CFO does it.

Topics will include the following:

- Why a simple payback screen gives the same answer with or without the credit, and why that answer carries no information about a 25-year asset

- What the credit is actually worth once taxes, depreciation, and timing are included

- The three numbers on a plant's own electricity bill that decide whether the project clears the hurdle

- What has to happen before the deadline, and why a lease or power purchase agreement changes the financing but not the investment decision