2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Fergus Falls, MN - Tax Credits & Rebates

What Solar Tax Credits, Incentives, and Rebates are Available in Fergus Falls?

Source: https://www.dsireusa.org/

Solar incentives help mitigate the cost of installing solar panels on your home. Financial incentives like these are designed to encourage more Americans to switch to renewable energy. The incentives might include cash back, upfront discounts or credit towards your monthly utility bill. Some incentives are handled by the federal government, some by the state of Minnesota and some by your utility company, county or municipality. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Rebates: A rebate is a partial refund given after you've purchased your solar system. Rebates could be offered by your local utility company, your county or your state. The rebates are usually applied before tax credits are calculated.
• Net Metering: Don't forget to talk to your Fergus Falls utility company about signing a net metering agreement. This will allow you to get a credit towards your monthly utility bill for the value of excess energy your solar panels generate. You could receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panel system could qualify for both sales tax and property tax exemptions. Sales tax exemptions are applied at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions allow you to exclude the value that solar panels add when you are calculating property taxes on your home.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the government. (A tax credit is different from a tax deduction.)

Federal Solar Incentives

When you think about solar incentives, you likely think of federal incentives first. A federal incentive that most people are likely familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This incentive is a tax credit for a given percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC can be applied to solar systems installed after January 1, 2006, on a primary or secondary residence that you own in the United States. The credit initially covered 30% of the total cost – for panels, labor, accessories and equipment – although the percentage may range from 26-30%, depending on the installation date of your solar system. There is no cap on the amount you can claim.

To better understand how the ITC will apply to you, call your local Fergus Falls solar panel installation expert and request more information.

The ITC was renewed and increased in scope after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. The Clean Energy Credit re-raises the credit up to 30% for solar installation projects started after January 1, 2022, and completed by the end of 2032. After 2032, the percentage will decrease slightly each year until the end of the program in 2035. Starting in 2023, the expansion to the program will also make credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. To understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you, talk to your local Fergus Falls solar installation expert.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives may be provided at the state and local level. Similar to federal incentives, these might include tax credits, rebates and more. The incentives — which might be provided by the state of Minnesota, or by your county or municipality — could be offered for only a limited time, or on an ongoing basis.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Fergus Falls

Solar incentives can be provided by the Minnesota government, the federal government or your local utility company. The variety of solar incentives available has contributed to a large increase in solar energy use in the last 15 years. Reach out to your local solar panel installer today to find out more information and to save as much money as possible on solar panels for your Fergus Falls home.