Solar panels, like these atop Chattanooga Bakery Co., could soon be limited to those that pay for them in full. The Tennessee Valley Authority may cut off subsidies for future such installations for the remaining days of 2013.

In the early morning hours of Aug. 1, emails flooded into the Tennessee Valley Authority's computers from homeowners and companies vying for a spot in the federal agency's small-scale solar energy program.

Moments after the application process opened at 7 a.m., space had run out, and it was back to a waiting game for the hundreds of applicants who didn't make it in.

"They keep dangling this carrot in front of you, and then they take it away," said Darren Metz, CEO of Novacopy, a distributor of commercial printers and copiers that wants to get into the program.

Read more at the Tennessean.