2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Rocky River, OH - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are designed to make renewable energy usage more affordable via financial incentives for individuals who install solar panels on their homes. These incentives can include upfront discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill. Some incentives are offered by the federal government, some by the state of Ohio and some by your utility company, county or municipality. Types of solar incentives might include:

• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panel system could qualify for exemptions on both sales and property tax. Sales tax exemptions are applied at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions let you ignore the added value of the solar panels when you are calculating property taxes on your house.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): Generally, solar systems that produce more than a predetermined (usually small) amount of electricity can qualify for SRECs or similar performance-based incentives. SRECs and the like are typically given at the state level. You can sell SRECs to your utility company or another buyer, and the money you receive is normally considered part of your taxable income.
• Net Metering: Be sure to speak to your Rocky River 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 might receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Tax Credits: Unlike tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the government.
• Rebates: A rebate is a partial refund credited to your account after you've paid for your solar system. These could be offered by your local utility company, your state or your county. The rebates are usually applied before tax credits are calculated.

Federal Solar Incentives

When you think about solar incentives, you likely think of federal incentives first. The solar incentive that you're most familiar with is probably the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which gives you a credit on your taxes equal to a certain percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC applies to the value of 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 installation costs (panels, accessories, labor and equipment), although the covered amount has fluctuated over the last few years between 26-30%. The amount you qualify for will depend on when your solar system was installed. There is no cap on the claim amount.

To more fully understand how the ITC might apply to your situation, speak to your local Rocky River solar panel installer and request more information.

The ITC has been renewed and expanded following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. The new Clean Energy Credit now runs until 2035. You are now eligible for a 30% credit for solar systems installed between 2022 and 2032. This credit will then be decreased by a few percentage points every year until the date of expiration. The expansion also makes credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim, beginning in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. Your local Rocky River solar panel installers are the best people to answer your questions about the new Clean Energy Credit and how it may apply to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives may be offered at the local or state level. Like with federal incentives, these may include tax credits, rebates and more. These incentives — which may be given by the state of Ohio, or by your county or municipality — might be offered on an ongoing basis, or for only a limited time.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Rocky River

Solar energy use nationwide has significantly increased in the past 15 years, in part due to the increase in availability of solar incentives. You may get these incentives from the Ohio government, the federal government or your local utility company. Contact your local solar panel installation expert today to discover more about the various programs and to save the most money possible on solar panels for your Rocky River home.