Adding solar panels saved Kentucky businesses big bucks. This law might change that.

As the new year dawned, advocates of the potential economic benefits of solar energy, particularly in economically-distressed counties in Eastern Kentucky, renewed their concern over a controversial law that could dissuade businesses, individuals and non-profits from installing solar panels.

The impacts of the law, which the Republican-led General Assembly approved last year, have not yet materialized, but critics warn that it will likely lead to fewer savings for businesses that install panels at a time when many businesses in Eastern Kentucky are struggling because of population loss and declining wages among their customer base.