You will be reimbursed for up to 80% of a system’s costs through State and Federal tax credits. Additionally, installing a solar system increases your home’s value without increasing your property taxes. You can even earn credits back from the power company via Net-Metering! With all of these benefits, the return on investment is immediate!
The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Credit is available to all US homeowners regardless of income or property location. The credit value is 30% of installed system cost, and most Solar Electric and Solar Water Heat systems qualify. There is no cap to the credit, and multiple systems on the same residence can take advantage of the credit. Solar Pool Heat systems do not qualify, but are eligible for the Louisiana program. EERE is a rollover credit, applicable to any current tax obligation for the current year, with the remainder able to rollover and apply to following years until at least 2016 (when the credit expires).
The Louisiana Solar and Wind Energy (SWE) credit is valued at 50% of the installed cost of a Solar Electric, Solar Water Heat, or Solar Pool Heat system, as well as Wind Generators and certain other solar-related products. The credit cap is $12,500, for a maximum system cost of $25,000, but there is no limit to the number of systems on a residence (see note below) and systems may share components. When added to the value of the Federal EERE credit, this amounts to 80% in tax credit savings alone.
Louisiana also has a property tax exemption for Solar and Wind Energy systems. No forms need to be filled out for this exemption, but owners should ensure that the assessor does not factor in the value of any Solar equipment installed on the home.
See the Files page for more information and documents for these credits, and fill out the estimate request form to get a free quote.
Note: The Louisiana SWE credit effectively limits number of systems to provide only up to the average annual energy needs of the residence. Any excess capacity is not qualified.
Quality financing for solar systems is available from a variety of reliable sources. Solar Alternatives encourages owners to thoroughly investigate the options and find the most stable and trustworthy program to meet project financing needs. Your mortgage lender, government organizations, and personal credit sources are all potential financiers.
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