2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Brighton, NY - Tax Credits & Rebates
In this guide, we'll cover the latest solar incentives and rebates available in Brighton.
You'll learn about:
- Local & State Solar Incentives
- Federal Tax Credits (Updated for 2024 and beyond)
- Ways to optimize your solar investment
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What Solar Tax Credits, Incentives, and Rebates are Available in Brighton?
Home Performance with ENERGY STAR
Residential Wood Heating Fuel Exemption
On-Site Wind Incentive Program
Tier II: 10,000 kWh - 125,000 kWh of expected annual energy production: $1.00/annual kWh
Tier III: 125,000 kWh - 1,000,000 kWh of expected annual energy production: $0.30/ annual kWh
Tier IV: Greater than 1,000,000 kWh of expected annual energy production: $0.15/ annual kWh
These incentives are additive.
Residential Solar Tax Credit
NY-Sun Loan Program
Small Business and Not-for-Profit Organizations:
Participation Loans: up to $100,000 (at low interest rate)
On-Bill Recovery loans: $50,000 at 2%
Local Option - Real Property Tax Exemption for Green Buildings
Energy Conservation Improvements Property Tax Exemption
Local Option - Solar Sales Tax Exemption
State of NY Commercial PACE Financing Program
Solar Sales Tax Exemption
Ground Source Heat Pump Rebate Program
Large Systems (> 10 cooling tons): $1,200/cooling ton
Refundable Clean Heating Fuel Tax Credit (Corporate)
Local Option - Solar, Wind & Biomass Energy Systems Exemption
NY-Sun PV Incentive Program (Residential, Low-Income, and Small Business)
Residential:
Long Island Region: $0.00/W (MW blocks have been fully subscribed)
Con Edison Region: $0.30/W
Upstate Region: $0.35/W
Low-to-Moderate income customers: $0.80/W (up to 10 kW)
Small Commercial (Non-Residential):Long Island Region: $0.00/W (MW blocks have been fully subscribed)
Con Edison Region: $0.60/W
Up State Region: $0.45/W
Multifamily Affordable Housing Adder: additional $0.40/W (up to 50 kW)
Refundable Clean Heating Fuel Tax Credit (Personal)
Anaerobic Digester Gas-to-Electricity Rebate and Performance Incentive
- Capacity Incentive: Varies on the construction and design of the system
- Performance Incentive: $0.025/kWh production payment for new systems for up to 10 years (estimated using a capacity factor of 75%)
- Interconnection Incentive: up to 75% of the costs exceeding $5,000
- Project Enhancement Incentives: Available for Black Start Capability, Hydrogen Sulfide reduction, design for accepting food waste and others
Federal Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit
Source: https://www.dsireusa.org/
Solar incentives are meant to encourage people to switch to renewable energy by offering incentives meant to lower the financial burden of solar panel installation and use. Different types of incentives, including cash back, discounts or credit towards your monthly utility bill, might be available to you. Some incentives may be offered by the New York government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:
- Tax Credits: Tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, how much income tax you owe the federal government. These are different from tax deductions.
- Tax Exemptions: These might come in the form of property tax exemptions, which can let you ignore the value added by your solar panels when calculating the taxes you pay on your home. You may also qualify for an exemption on sales tax at the time of purchase.
- Rebates: Solar companies may help you claim a rebate, or partial refund of your purchase, for your solar panels. Counties or states will also offer limited-time rebates at various times. Any rebates you receive will usually be deducted from your total price before any tax credits are calculated.
- Net Metering: Net metering becomes relevant after your solar system is up and running. If you have a net metering agreement with your Brighton utility company, it will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your monthly utility bill. In some areas, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in other places you might make back a percentage of the value.
Federal Solar Incentives
Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have heard of. It's likely that you've heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. The ITC is a tax credit equal to a specified percentage of the money you spend on solar panels for your home.
The ITC applies to the total cost of installing a solar system, including the panels themselves as well as equipment, accessories and labor. This credit can be claimed for panels installed after January 1, 2006, on a primary or secondary residence located in the United States that you own. Originally set at 30% of total costs, the credit has fluctuated over time, and you may qualify for different amounts depending on when your project was completed. There is no maximum claim amount.
Your local Brighton solar panel installation expert can provide more information about the ITC and how it may apply to your situation.
The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, made some changes to the ITC (as well as renaming it to 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. The credit percentage will then begin to decrease yearly until the Clean Energy Credit expires in 2035. Starting in 2023, the 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 learn more about how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you is to get in touch with your local Brighton solar panel installers.
State & Local Solar Incentives
Some solar incentives are often also provided by state and local governments. As with federal incentives, these may include rebates, tax credits and more. These incentives may be distributed by your county or municipality, or by the New York government. Some are available for a limited time, while others are ongoing.
Next Steps for Installing Solar in Brighton
You can apply for solar incentives from the New York government and the federal government, as well as from your local utility company. This increase in availability of solar initiatives over the last 15 years has helped increase nationwide solar energy use enormously. When you're prepared to make the change to solar energy, getting in touch with your local Brighton solar panel installation expert is an excellent place to start.
EcoWatch's Brighton, NY Solar Incentives FAQs
How do I know if I qualify for certain solar incentives?
Typically, solar incentives apply to:
- a new solar system
- installed on property that you own
- within the U.S.
- within the date range specified by a particular incentive.
Specific incentives, including ones handled by the New York government or by your county/municipality, may have additional qualifications. Get in touch with your local Brighton solar installer to learn more about what incentives your project will qualify for.
My home already has solar panels installed. Do I qualify for any incentives?
An excellent idea would be to talk to someone from the company that installed your system – or reach out to a local Brighton solar installer — to better understand which incentives you may qualify for. If your solar panels were installed after January 1, 2022, you likely qualify for the recently increased 30% tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act. Solar panels installed between 2006 and 2021 may qualify for a tax credit of 26-30%.
How much can I save annually on my electric bill if I add solar panels to my house in Brighton?
When you add solar panels to your house in Brighton, you can anticipate savings of about $829.19 per year, or about $15,754.66 over 20 years.
What are some environmental benefits of adding solar panels to my home?
Solar energy is renewable — by changing where you get your energy, you can help reduce the strain on our planet's resources. Solar panels can also lower your home's CO2 emissions by 100 pounds annually, or around 2,000 pounds in 20 years.
Our goal is to reach as many people as we can with sensible solutions like solar energy. Our team of full-time local researchers collects solar price and installation data for every city in America then compiles it to create these digestible city guides. If you want to read our solar expert's opinion on the top solar companies featured here, follow this link.