FXSTD – Alternative Energy Center

By: Tina Metcalf
What, you say? The economy is in a shambles, two of my neighbors have been laid off and my heating bill is half again as much as it was last winter. How can this be a good time to install solar power?

Let's take it step by step. The losses on Wall Street may impact the economy, but they are not the economy. Almost all the factories, farms, growers, and retailers who started 2008 are still around. More important, the cows, chickens, pigs, wheat and corn fields, cotton fields and forests - the goods that make up the "real" economy - are still growing.

Yes, people are losing jobs in the banking and retail sectors, but these job losses are exacerbated by cutbacks in spending, leading to more losses. I'm not suggesting you buy frivolous items like plastic shoes from China, but if you want to encourage the manufacturing sector, buy American. Buy the one thing that is still truly "made in America"; solar power.

Your heating bill is likely from 25 to 40 percent higher. This is because the utilities lost money over the summer as a result of consumers cutting back on electricity. You can make them see the error of their ways - and the futility of raising prices to cover losses - by installing solar power and generating some, or all, of your electricity needs yourself.

Let's take a look at other incentives, beginning with The Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008 (amended as part of the recent bailout bill, passed Oct. 1, 2008):

Taxpayers can claim a renewable energy credit for 10 years, beginning on the date the qualified facility is placed in service. In order to qualify, facilities must be placed in service by December 31, 2009 (the original date was 2008). The credit is equal to 30 percent of qualifying expenditures, and the former cap of $2,000 for each system was also repealed as part of the bailout package. This 30 percent credit is not a tax deduction, but an actual credit - it comes right off the top of your income. Under current law, taxpayers can also claim a 30 percent business energy credit for purchases of qualified solar energy property. Credits apply to periods after December 31, 2005 and before January 1, 2008. What this represents to you, the average American, is a gift from the very Senate that gave those silly bankers $700 billion. The least you can do is take advantage of it, since it's probably the only bailout you, the consumer, are likely to see.

If the federal incentive isn't enough to whet your appetite, check out the database of state incentives. For example, in Minnesota solar installations escape sales tax and qualify for up to $22,500 in incentives (at a rate of $2.25 per watt) through Xcel Energy's Renewable Development Fund. The incentives are available until the fund is exhausted.

In San Francisco, California, solar installations qualify for up to a $6,000 rebate. That's cash in hand, so to speak. In Illinois, you can get up to $10,000 in incentives (for a $50,000 system). You can also check out Cooler Planet's blog on solar power state ratings.

So what are you waiting for? As the economic downturn impacts state budgets and funds are used up, the opportunities to benefit from a solar power system can only grow smaller. To find a qualified installer and purchase your solar system, visit our resource page.