The incentives available for home and business owners vary from state to state, local government to local government, and from the utility company to utility company. It can be difficult to see which incentives, if any, a property and property owner might qualify for. However, federally there are loans and depreciation write-offs available nationally, and of course the MASSIVE Investment Tax Credit (ITC). Right now, the ITC is valued at 26% and will go down at the end of 2022. This means that property owners only have until the end of this calendar year before going green with a solar array will never be as affordable.
In Ohio and Kentucky, as well as many other states listed here, a policy known as Net Metering is available. Net Metering is a blanket term that refers to an outline of how utility companies and home and business owners interact with each other. These rules govern the relationship between solar owners and utilities, usually referred to as interconnection. Interconnection allows solar owners to sell back excess electricity produced by their solar arrays, without having to store any of it. This is key to driving down costs and reducing the demand that utility companies have to meet, and therefore is a win-win for all parties involved. This policy has allowed solar ownership growth to skyrocket, and make it affordable for any property owner, with the right installer and finance options, to go green and solar.
Other local incentives include property tax freezes, LEED building points scored, tax abatements, utility and local government grants, state and local low-interest rate loan programs, and much more! These incentives are all used to help aid solar, which is already cheaper and creates a positive change in carbon footprint compared to the alternative, compete with fossil fuels on price and is vital to solar ownership. To find out more about local incentives beyond these main ones, reach out to the number one solar installer in your area.
Through 2019, the federal government is offering a 30% rebate on the total cost of a solar install. This is a huge help to many of our homeowners and makes it very affordable. The main incentive in Ohio is of course Net Metering (process explained below). State and local incentives include may also be included, such as a property tax freeze in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.
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