Solar Incentives Explained

First, the bad news:

Most if not all of the available state incentives, despite the advertising, have been used or reserved.

But now, the good news: 

The federal tax credit is available through 2016, and allows you to take 30% of the cost of the system off your taxable income, has no cap, and can be carried over. It applies to "labor costs for on-site preparation, assembly or original system installation, and for piping or wiring to interconnect a system to the home." Which basically means the price of the entire system and installation, assuming you aren't ordering equipment yourself. These credits don't apply to producers with lease agreements.


This incentive can mean significant savings for you in your long-term electrical system investment, paying you back earlier through your tax return, and significantly shortening the time it takes your system to pay for itself. And, just think about this: you are essentially purchasing your electricity for the next 25 years all at once. 

Here's the bottom line...the cost of electricity will go up. The range in the above referenced study is between 1.9% and 6.3%, so let's pick a number about in the middle and say 4% increase per year. This means, if you paid $2,500 this year, you'll be paying $3,000 in five years, and $3,700 in ten. The rise is exponential, which means not only does the cost increase, the rate of increase increases. In 20 years, you'll be paying $5,500, or close to $500 a month.

When you buy a solar PV system and make your own power, you are buying the security of knowing what you'll be paying for electricity for a long time.