Lawmakers continue to drive toward extending the solar investment tax credit (ITC). Recently, U.S. Senate Democratic and Republican leaders ― including Sens.Max Baucus(D-MT),Chuck Grassley (R-IA),Harry Reid(D-NV),John Ensign(R-NV),Maria Cantwell(D-WA), andMitch McConnell(R-KY) ― have taken wide strides toward pushing legislation forward.

The agreement has been hashed out over the past week; with luck it will hit the Senate floor for a vote by the end of this week. It should include an eight-year extension of the commercial ITC, a utility exemption repeal, a two-year extension of the residential ITC and other measures.

Observers have commented that the bipartisan nature of this agreement decreases the likelihood that the legislation will be vetoed by the president. Some estimate that the passing of the ITC could create more than 400,000 new U.S. jobs in the solar industry alone over the next eight years.