2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Cornwall, NY - Tax Credits & Rebates
In this guide, we'll cover the latest solar incentives and rebates available in Cornwall.
You'll learn about:
- Local & State Solar Incentives
- Federal Tax Credits (Updated for 2024 and beyond)
- Ways to optimize your solar investment
Solar installers are experts in maximizing your solar tax credits and rebates.
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What Solar Tax Credits, Incentives, and Rebates are Available in Cornwall?
State of NY Commercial PACE Financing Program
Residential Solar Tax Credit
Refundable Clean Heating Fuel Tax Credit (Corporate)
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%
Residential Wood Heating Fuel Exemption
Local Option - Solar Sales Tax Exemption
Solar Sales Tax Exemption
Local Option - Real Property Tax Exemption for Green Buildings
Energy Conservation Improvements Property Tax Exemption
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)
Ground Source Heat Pump Rebate Program
Large Systems (> 10 cooling tons): $1,200/cooling ton
Home Performance with ENERGY STAR
Refundable Clean Heating Fuel Tax Credit (Personal)
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.
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 designed to mitigate the cost of installing solar panels on your home. These financial incentives are in place to encourage more homeowners to switch to renewable energy. Different types of incentives, including cash back, discounts or monthly utility bill credits, may be available to you. Certain incentives may be offered by the state of New York, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Categories of solar incentives include:
- Tax Credits: Different from tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the government.
- Net Metering: You can sign a net metering agreement with your Cornwall utility company, that may apply to all or a percentage of the excess electricity your solar panels generate. They will then deduct this value from your monthly utility bill.
- Rebates: Solar rebates may be provided by your state or county, or by your local utility company. These rebates work as cash back that is applied after your purchase of solar panels and before tax credits are calculated.
- Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions can come in one of two forms. First, there is sales tax exemption, which is applied at the time you purchase your solar panels. The second is property tax exemption, which allows you to ignore the added value of your solar system when paying property tax on your house.
Federal Solar Incentives
Federal solar incentives are probably the first thing that you think of when you think about solar incentives. One of the incentives that most people are likely to be familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This is a tax credit for a specific percentage of the cost of your solar system.
The ITC applies to a solar system installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar panels must have been installed on a property you own after January 1, 2006, for you to claim the credit. The ITC initially covered 30% of all system installation costs (panels, labor, equipment and accessories), although the amount has fluctuated over time between 26-30%. The amount you qualify for will depend on when your solar system was installed. There is no cap on the amount you can claim.
Your local Cornwall solar panel installation expert can provide you with more information about the ITC and how it may apply to your situation.
In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act expanded and extended the ITC, now referred to as the Clean Energy Credit. Now, solar installation projects started after January 1, 2022, and completed by the end of 2032, can qualify for a 30% tax credit. The amount of the credit will then decrease slightly each year until the end of the current Clean Energy Credit in 2035. The expansion to the program also makes it easier to get credit for energy storage systems, beginning in 2023.
Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. Your local Cornwall solar panel installation experts can answer your questions and explain how the new Clean Energy Credit may apply to you.
State & Local Solar Incentives
Not all solar incentives are federal; tax credits, rebates and more might also be offered at the local or state level. Certain incentives are offered for only a limited time, while others are ongoing. Local solar incentives could come from the New York government, or from your specific county or municipality.
Next Steps for Installing Solar in Cornwall
You can apply for and receive solar incentives from the federal government and the New York government, as well as from your local utility company. This increase in availability of solar initiatives in the past 15 years has helped increase solar adoption nationwide. Reaching out to your local Cornwall solar panel installation expert is the right first step towards making sure you get all the incentives you qualify for when you switch to solar energy.
EcoWatch's Cornwall, NY Solar Incentives FAQs
If I installed solar panels on my house a few years ago, can I still claim incentives?
You should plan to talk to someone from the company that installed your solar panels – or reach out to a local Cornwall 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 newly increased 30% tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act. Systems installed between 2006 and 2021 may qualify for a tax credit of 26-30%.
How much can I save on my electric bill annually if I install solar panels on my Cornwall home?
Generally, homeowners in Cornwall who install solar panels save about $1,123.81 per year, or around $21,352.33 over 20 years after making the switch.
How long until the federal solar tax credit ends?
The federal solar tax credit, formerly known as the ITC and now named the Clean Energy Credit, is set to end on January 1, 2035. The current 30% credit will end in 2032, replaced by a 26% credit in 2033 and a 22% credit in 2034.
If I trade in my appliances for ones that can utilize solar energy, are there any incentives that I can claim?
Under the new Inflation Reduction Act, there are a variety of new financial incentives for making eco-friendly improvements to your home. More details regarding these incentives, including information about incentives for purchasing new appliances, can be found here.
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