In The News
According to a recent Newsday article Llers rush to switch to solar power by Mark Harrington, the surge in solar rebate applications is exhausting the LIPA budget. At this rate, LIPA will have to reduce or suspend the program very soon. When this rebate is gone, solar power will be out of reach for most Long Islanders.
’s generous levels. Combine the LIPA rebate with our Harvest Power Financing Program and your break-even point could be less than one year! Below is a list of all of the incentives currently in place for solar electric systems.
LIPA Rebate
LIPA customers can receive a $3.50 rebate for every installed watt of solar electricity up to $35,000. This rebate is a first-come-first-serve rebate and will not last forever. We will process this rebate for you and take it directly as payment from LIPA. Let us lock in your rebate at the current levels now!
Tax Credits
Tax credits are much better than tax deductions. A tax credit is money that you can use to pay your tax obligations. It’s money that the government gives to you. Both the federal government and NYS will give you tax credits for newly installed solar power. When Congress passed the bail-out package, they also increased the Federal Incentive to 30% of the cost of the system. Get your piece of the bail-out pie!
- NYS pays 25% of the system cost up to $5,000 (after LIPA rebate)
- The Federal Government will pay 30% (after LIPA rebate)
Property Tax Exemption
Even though the addition of a solar system will significantly increase the value of your home, it will not raise your property taxes! In NY, there is a 15-year real property tax exemption through NYS's Real Property Tax Law for solar systems. Thus, your property value increase is exempt from property tax. You will need to check with your local tax agency on this one since municipalities and school districts are not bound to this. But so far, we are unaware of any district on Long Island that has disallowed this exemption.
Net Metering - Eliminate your electric bill
Net metering allows solar system owners to feed their excess power to LIPA and run their meter backwards during high production times. Then, the meter runs forward when the electricity needs are more than the system is producing (like at night or very cloudy weather). The customer only pays LIPA for the ‘net’ power consumed. Because LIPA is taking the excess energy off of your bill, they are essentially paying you full retail price for your excess power. This allows many customers to eliminate their electric bill without installing batteries. If your system exceeds your total usage in a year, LIPA will buy the excess power beyond your usage at the wholesale price. Think about that, if your system over-produces, LIPA will send you a check.
No Sales Tax
There is no sales tax on solar systems that are sold in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Though the homeowner would not see this as a direct charge on their bill, adding 8+% on to the material cost would certainly make the installed prices higher. Given the current financial state of the counties, this exemption could be lost at any time.
Should I wait for the price to come down?
The fact is, without the incentive programs, solar power is not economical. The NREL estimates that it will take 10 or more years for the technology to advance to where solar power makes economic sense without the subsidies. The current policies may only last as long as the current policy makers. Every day you wait there is a risk that the incentives will be removed and the opportunity lost. Also, while you are waiting for the technology to advance, you will continue to pay LIPA’s ever-increasing rates. Beside the economic impact, there’s an environmental impact to waiting. Every year you wait results in another year’s worth of Green House gasses being dumped into the atmosphere. Solar power is renewable and emissions free!
Schedule your free evaluation today!