State-by-State Solar Installation Incentives

Tax Credits

• Twenty-five or more states have some form of personal, corporate tax credit for solar projects. Some taxes offer both credits. In Georgia, residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural installation qualifies for this incentive. The type of installation includes photovoltaic, passive solar space heat, solar water heat and solar space heat. Incentives amount hinges on the type of installation. Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho and Indiana offer tax credits for solar installations. Some other states offering incentives include Wisconsin, New York and Rhode Island. In New York, the personal tax credit applies to residential installations; it covers 25 percent of the cost up to a maximum of $5,000.

Grants

• Many states offer grants to commercial, agricultural, nonprofit, schools and government agencies for solar installations. The states award the grants on a case-by-case basis. The process usually requires the entity seeking the grant to submit a letter that outlines the project, project costs and sources of funding. Some grants target specific project, such as the Illinois Solar Schools Program, which award up to $10,000 to schools that install an one-kilowatt photovoltaic system. Delaware offer research and development grants to commercial and institutional projects that pay up to 35 percent for qualifying solar project up top a maximum of $250,000 per project.

Bonds

• A few states have state bond programs, including Illinois, Idaho and New Mexico. The New Mexico Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Bonding Act gives the New Mexico Finance Authority the power to issue as much as $20 million in bonds for governmental agencies or school authorities to enter agreements for the installation of solar water heat, passive solar space heat, photovoltaic or other renewable technologies. Savings realized on energy bills go toward repayment of the principal and interest on the bonds.

Renewable Portfolio Standard

• According to The US Department of Energy, at least 24 states have performance-based incentive programs that employ Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada and New Mexico are among the states that have passed RPS legislation. RPS mandates electrical utilities to buy a percentage of its energy from renewable energy (RE) producers, including biomass, wind or solar. Most states guidelines require increment annual increases to reach a specific target. For example, Delaware increases the RPS requirement each year with the goal of reaching 20 percent by 2019. By 2025, electrical suppliers must reach 25 percent RE with 3.5 percent in the form of photovoltaic.