2023 Solar Incentives Guide for East Greenbush, NY - Tax Credits & Rebates
In this guide, we'll cover the latest solar incentives and rebates available in East Greenbush.
You'll learn about:
- Local & State Solar Incentives
- Federal Tax Credits (Updated for 2023 and beyond)
- Ways to optimize your solar investment
Solar installers are experts in maximizing your solar tax credits and rebates.
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Updated May 04, 2023
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What Solar Tax Credits, Incentives, and Rebates are Available in East Greenbush?
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/
The term "solar incentives" covers a wide range of financial incentives implemented to make installing and using solar panels more affordable. This is done to encourage people to switch to renewable energy. Incentives might include things like discounts, cash back or credit on your utility bill each month. Some incentives are handled federally, while others are offered by the state of New York or by your specific utility company, county or municipality. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:
- Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions may come in two forms. The first is sales tax exemption, applied when you purchase solar panels. The second is property tax exemption, which allows you to ignore the added value of your solar system when calculating property tax for your home.
- Net Metering: Be sure to speak with your East Greenbush utility company about signing a net metering agreement. This allows 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 Credits: Tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the government. These differ from tax deductions.
- Rebates: Solar rebates can be offered by your county or state, or by your local utility company. These rebates are essentially cash back that is applied after you purchase a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.
Federal Solar Incentives
Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have some knowledge of. The solar incentive that you're most likely to have heard of is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which gives you a credit on your taxes equal to a specified 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, equipment, accessories and labor — 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.
Your local East Greenbush solar panel installation expert can offer more information about the ITC and how it applies to your situation.
The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, expanded and extended the ITC (as well as retitling it the Clean Energy Credit). For solar system installations that begin after January 1, 2022 and are completed by the end of 2032, homeowners can receive a credit for 30% of the total cost. After 2033, the percentage will decrease annually until the Clean Energy Credit ends in 2035. The expansion also makes credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim, starting in 2023.
Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. The best way to learn more about how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you is to reach out to your local East Greenbush solar panel installation expert with your questions.
State & Local Solar Incentives
Some solar incentives may be provided by state and local governments. Like with federal incentives, these may include rebates, tax credits and more. Certain incentives are offered for only a limited time, while others are ongoing. These local incentives could come from your county or municipality, or from the New York government.
Next Steps for Installing Solar in East Greenbush
You can 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 greatly increase nationwide adoption of solar energy. We suggest talking to your local East Greenbush solar installer for more information about these incentives and to make sure that you're getting the most money possible for your solar panels.
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EcoWatch's East Greenbush, NY Solar Incentives FAQs
What if I am planning to add a solar system to a vacation home, rental property or commercial property? Can I still qualify for incentives?
Many solar incentives are intended to apply to a property located within the United States that you own; most secondary residences fall under this distinction. Other solar incentives may be available for commercial properties, depending on the specifics. We recommend reaching out to your local solar installer and/or tax professional to best understand what incentives may apply to your specific situation.
How can I learn if I qualify for specific solar incentives?
Broadly, solar incentives apply to:
- a new solar panel system
- installed on property that you own
- within the U.S.
- between the dates specified by a particular incentive.
Specific incentives, including those run by the New York government or by your county/municipality, sometimes have additional qualifications. Talk to your local East Greenbush solar installer to learn more about what incentives your project may qualify for.
If I already have solar panels, can I still claim incentives?
An excellent idea would be to talk to someone from the company that installed your solar system — or reach out to a local East Greenbush solar installer — to learn about which incentives you might qualify for. If your system was installed after January 1, 2022, you likely qualify for the newly increased 30% tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act. Solar systems installed between 2006 and 2021 may qualify for a tax credit of 26-30%.
How long until the federal solar tax credit ends?
The federal solar tax credit, formerly called the ITC and now named the Clean Energy Credit, is scheduled 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.
Can I qualify for incentives both towards the initial cost of solar panels, and later as reimbursement?
The order that incentives will be applied in may vary depending on which incentives you receive but usually yes, you can receive multiple types of incentives for your solar project. Speak to your solar installer or a local tax professional to verify you are claiming all of the incentives you qualify for and applying them in the correct order.
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.
Solar incentive research was conducted by Melissa Smith and Karsten Neumeister. Local data analysis was conducted by James Savino. See something we missed or could do better? Email the editor.