 It's really wonderful to be here and talk about solar and about clean energy. We had a situation in Washington where there were tariff investigations and the impact of those investigations was going to be crippling to our domestic solar industry. What we were successful in doing with the advocacy of solar folks in Vermont and around the country was to persuade President Biden and his administration to continue with the solar tariff investigation but to not impose tariffs, which was making it exorbitant and too expensive for our solar installers to get access to solar panels to do the job. We all lose if, essentially, we're not able to put our solar installers to work because they can't get access to solar panels. This was a disruption in the market that was having an immediate and devastating impact on jobs of folks in Vermont who were doing the tremendous work of installing solar panels. But second, we all know that we have to make this transition to clean energy. We all know it. I mean, wouldn't it be wonderful if we had electric cars now and they were affordable? And wouldn't it be wonderful if right now we had the charging stations so people could recharge their vehicles just as easily as they can go to a gas station? But that's a transition that is underway. Solar panels are a huge part of that. And we can't let the progress that we're making be interrupted by this investigation. So I'm extremely grateful to President Biden and his administration for being so responsive to the letter that I and a number of my colleagues sent urging him to put the tariffs on hold so that the solar installation could continue on abated. It's good for clean energy. It's good for the Vermont economy. And it's good for our businesses and our homeowners who are really eager to install solar panels and have clean energy and freely in the long run more affordable energy. So we're here today just to acknowledge our appreciation that we have another in many more days ahead to create jobs and to move towards clean energy. You know, the solar industry was really hammered as many industries were when COVID started, when we had the lockdown back in March. But they're coming back hard. We had had lost a lot of jobs, but now they're back. One of the folks here will talk about all of these jobs. But I really want to again reiterate that it's tremendous that the federal government through the Biden administration by removing this impediment to affordability for our installers to get access to solar panels has done a tremendous thing that's going to be very helpful to the success of these companies, our workforce, and also our Vermont commitment to move towards clean energy. And today I'm joined by Paula Shore, Green Mountain Solar, and I really thank him for hosting us, Chad Ferrell, who's been working hard on core renewable energy in a Renewable Energy Vermont board member and also Jonathan Douds, who is representing the Renewable Energy of Vermont, which is of course the consortium, the advocacy group to advocate for good things like clean energy. So I'll turn it over, Paul, to you and I appreciate what you have to say here. Thank you. So one, I want to thank Representative Welch for what he's done to advocate for this. As the tariffs were announced, obviously after coming through a pandemic and everything else we've had going on the last few years, it was just another scary moment as a business owner where you just really don't know what happened. You know, talking to our distributors, we went from thinking we're going to have a really great and smooth year finally to, oh goodness, where are our panels going to come from now? And, you know, obviously as a business owner, one that's, you know, scary for our financials but more importantly, that's really scary for our customers and then our employees. Panels are the key technology for solar. If we don't have them to put up, half of our company, which is our installation and operation screw, doesn't really have a job to do. And you know, it hurts any time we have to tell them, I'm sorry. I don't have work for you. So seeing this pause on the tariffs, you know, as they go through the investigation and the reprieve from the potential retroactive tariffs is huge. We're going to, you know, see a slow gain back in our ability to get panels. This isn't going to be something overnight, but it's a step in the right direction. And I think it's a step in the right direction for the country, you know. As Representative Welch said, we know that climate change is a big issue. Our military alone says that they have a goal of being 50% clean energy by 2030 and 100% by 2050. So this is a national security issue and seeing us use the Defense Production Act to move forward with more manufacturing is a real boon for us as well. We've always tried to get as many American panels as we can, but we just don't have the supply chains built up. So I'm really appreciative of this. Our goal as a company is to deliver resilient energy to our customers through solar, through energy storage, through EV chargers. And you know, that's going to help people invest in their home and their businesses and have a little control over where their power comes from. And so getting this real reprieve on the tariffs means a lot to us as a business, our whole industry, and more importantly, our fellow Vermonters. So thank you. That's great. Chad. Thanks, Paul. Good morning, everybody. My name is Chad Ferrell. I'm the founder and CEO of Encore Renewable Energy based in Burlington. Since 2010, our company has designed and financed and installed nearly 100 community-scale solar projects throughout the state of Vermont. And we're doing so for businesses, institutions, and utilities, such as Green Mountain Power. And we're often deploying these resources on underutilized real estate, including landfills and brownfields. And we're working with our farming community to deliver agrivoltaic solutions to provide revenue for our farmers while also increasing ecosystem services, such as pollination and reductions in stormwater runoff. So we employ 30 hardworking, forward-thinking, passionate individuals who have supported the development and deployment of all of these assets. And we have a robust pipeline that was completely put on hold as a result of this investigation. And that pipeline is over 400 megawatts, almost a half a billion dollars in economic value, completely shut down. So the future of our thriving company was in real jeopardy due to this tariff investigation. And it's not hyperbole to say that this has been one of the greatest existential threats that our company and the industry at large has faced in the 15 years we've been doing business. And trust me, we've seen a lot riding on the solar coaster. But this took the cake. So we are beyond grateful for Congressman Welch's leadership and engagement on this issue, along with a host of other bipartisan lawmakers that conveyed the gravity of the situation to the Biden administration. And that resulted in President Biden's executive order on Monday that is going to allow us to continue building out solar projects in the United States while we stand up a domestic supply chain, which is going to take some time. And I'd like to also offer a hat tip as well to Rebecca Ellis here and Alex Piper from the congressman staff who really dug in on this thorny, detailed in the weeds kind of issue. And we're super appreciative for that. So I do want to mention that two things here are true. The first is that we do need a strong domestic solar supply chain for energy security purposes. And that too, until and unless we incentivize that supply chain through manufacturing incentives, I'm talking carrots, not sticks, because sticks have been proven ineffective since tariffs have been enacted for 10 years. We've had 10 years of solar tariffs. We still don't have the domestic supply chain that we need to satisfy the needs of our customers, Paul's customers, you know, electric consumers throughout the country. So and these customers are looking towards renewables. And this is an exciting development. These customers are now looking towards renewables as they increasingly understand the economic benefit and the economic value that solar PV offers in terms of predictable, stable, low cost and levelized cost of energy, not to mention the environmental and public health benefits. So so now it's time to look forward again as we continue to advance renewable energy deployment in the United States. And in short, we need the clean energy and climate provisions of the reconciliation package to be passed into law as soon as possible because climate change, as we all know, is an existential threat facing our society. And again, we really appreciate the Congressmen's and President Biden's not only their grasp on this issue and the crisis, but also the critical role that solar and storage is going to play in the face of more extreme weather events and all in the while while we create tens of millions of jobs around this country that cannot be outsourced overseas. So thank you for the opportunity to be here. Thanks again to Congressman Welch and his staff for really stepping up and supporting our industry. We we we're deeply appreciative. Thanks again. We can open up questions, but I just want to say Green Mountain Power couldn't be here today, but they've been extremely helpful. And you know, this is a partnership. The federal government has to have policies that are helpful to folks back home being successful in what it is they're doing. So it's kind of you to thank me, but the hard work is always implementation. I mean, creating a facility like this, having trained workers, doing marketing to get customers and then being able to do it in an efficient, effective way. So the work that you've done, Chad, the work that you've done, Paul, the work that Rev has done, that's really the heart of this. And we've got to make sure that the federal policies are helpful, not harmful to them and all the folks who work for them to be successful. So thank you. Any questions? Well, the investigation is going to be ongoing. And the two things that are important is there's got to be a long term goal for us to have our domestic production. And the president is now using the Defense Production Act that is going to be extremely helpful. That's number one. Number two, as Chad said, we have incentives in the environmental legislation that's pending in the Senate. It's being blocked by the filibuster. It's been passed by the House. So those incentives really can make a difference. And incentives work when you're making this transition. So I would say, number one, the Defense Production Act is going to facilitate domestic production. And number two, we've got to get those incentives passed. Thank you. That's great. Appreciate it. Appreciate it.