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The House voted Monday to phase out tax credits for Utahns installing rooftop solar-energy systems over the next four years.

Representatives approved the policy change 60-14 and sent HB23 to the Senate.

Currently, Utahns may seek tax credits of up to $2,000 for installing a residential solar system. The bill would limit that to $1,600 beginning in 2018, then ratchet down the amount yearly by $400 until it reaches zero by Dec. 31, 2021.

That comes after runaway growth in solar installations in 2016 threatened to drain up to $60 million from state coffers this year, hurting school funding.

Currently, the state is spending about $5.5 million on these tax credits, according to the bill's fiscal note. That money comes out of the education fund, made up of revenues from state income tax.

The new phase-out plan would eliminate caps lawmakers had considered on the total amount devoted yearly to the solar tax breaks, effectively doing away with limits on how many residents can seek the incentives while they last.

"I'm optimistic that this industry has a bright future" and no longer needs the tax credits that helped it survive early stages, said sponsoring Rep. Jeremy Peterson, R-Ogden.

But Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, protested the move.

"The justification for this bill is that you don't need to subsidize solar anymore. I would beg to differ," Briscoe said, adding that solar provides only 1 percent of Utah's energy. He said continuing incentives could help reduce air pollution.

Some supporters of rooftop solar previously said the state should annually review the changes it is ordering to see if the industry runs into a bump and fails to expand because of the tax-credit reductions.

"It does strike me that they are making this decision on uncertain turf," Matt Pacenza, executive direct of HEAL Utah said recently. "It could be that in 2018 we're looking at a completely different picture."