Long Beach, Calif. —- Hoping that federal regulators follow the lead of states like Florida and California, the solar energy industry is launching a major effort to persuade Congress to extend tax breaks and other incentives they say are critical to keep the industry's recent momentum going.

"We are going to become a political force," Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, declared at an industry conference here this week. "It's our time ... we're in position to grow like never before in our history."

Solar industry boosters want Congress to extend tax breaks initially passed in 2005 that give consumers and business owners who install solar equipment an income tax credit equal to 30 percent of the cost of the system, up to $2,000.

The tax breaks are set to expire next year, but far-reaching energy bills in both the House and Senate would extend them for up to eight years.

Proponents say the bills help put solar on a more level playing field with other energy industries that already get federal tax breaks. "This is the best energy bill ever proposed in Congress for solar," Resch said.

The House and Senate bills have many differences, however, and reconciling them won't be easy. President Bush has indicated he will veto either bill in its current form, in part because his top energy officials say they would raise taxes for producers and prices for consumers.

Cognizant of a tough battle ahead, Resch acknowledges that there's only a "50-50 chance" of a bill passing this year.

As Congress deliberates, solar power —- which still provides only a fraction of the nation's electricity after a history of fits and starts —- has become red hot.