2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Hopkins, MN - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are designed to make renewable energy usage more affordable via financial incentives to help people install solar panels on their homes. Various types of incentives, including discounts, cash back or monthly utility bill credits, might be available to you. Certain incentives may be offered by the Minnesota government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while others are federal. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Net Metering: Make sure you speak to your Hopkins utility company about signing a net metering contract. This will allow you to get a credit towards your monthly utility bill for the value of excess energy generated by your solar panels. You may receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions can come in one of two forms. First, there is sales tax exemption, applied when you purchase solar panels. The second is property tax exemption, which allows you to exclude the added value of your solar system when paying property tax on your home.
• Tax Credits: Different from tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the federal government.
• Rebates: Solar rebates might be provided by your local utility company, or by your state or county. These rebates are essentially cash back that is applied after you pay for a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the type of incentives that you are most likely to have some knowledge of. An incentive many people are likely to be familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This incentive is a tax credit for a certain percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC applies to solar systems installed after January 1, 2006 on a primary or secondary residence in the United States that you own. Originally, the tax credit was for 30% of the total cost — for panels, equipment, accessories and labor — although that amount may range from 26-30%, depending on when your solar project was undertaken. There is no cap on the amount you can claim.

To understand exactly how much money the ITC could save you, speak with your local Hopkins solar panel installer.

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. Homeowners can now receive a credit of 30% of the total costs of solar system installation for projects started after January 1, 2022 and completed before the end of 2032. This percentage will then decrease yearly until the Clean Energy Credit expires in 2035. Starting in 2023, the program expansion will also make it easier to get credit for energy storage systems.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. The best way to fully understand how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you is to speak with your local Hopkins solar panel installation expert directly.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives are often also provided by state and local governments. Like with federal incentives, these might include rebates, tax credits and more. Certain incentives are ongoing, while others may only be available for a limited time. They might be offered by the Minnesota government, or by your county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Hopkins

You can receive solar incentives from the federal government and the Minnesota government, as well as from your local utility company. Growing availability of solar initiatives over the last 15 years has helped increase nationwide solar energy use enormously. Speak with your local solar panel installer today to learn more and to save as much money as possible on a solar system for your Hopkins home.