US Solar Incentives
There are lots of different US solar incentives and feed-in tariffs available. There are incentives for Federal, State, local authority and utility companies.
Each State has a Public Utilities Commissions and they set the standard for interconnection to the distribution grid.
Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE)
A full list of all the incentives and tariffs available by State can be found on the DSIRE website. Included on their site is a map by state for all the solar incentives and tariffs.
Net Metering
If you generate your own solar electricity and bank excess electricity produced to the grid, you can get credits usually in the form of kilowatt-hour (kWh).
These credits can then be used to offset electricity consumed by the customer at a different time during the same billing period. Many states have Net Metering in place, a full details can be found
on the DSIRE Net Metering page.
Feed-In Tariff
A feed-In Tariff has now been introduced in a few states and you are paid a rate for the energy produced, not just under the Net Metering scheme that is fed into the grid.
Incentives
There are many incentives available including Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing, direct cash, property tax, sales tax, tax credits, loan programs and permitting incentives.
Full details of all the incentives available can be found on the Solar Policy Guide
Federal Tax Credit
There is a Federal Tax credit available of 30% for the installation of solar for both exisiting and new builds. The tax credit is due to expire December 2016.
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