2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Strasburg, PA - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are intended to make renewable energy usage more affordable via financial incentives for those who install solar panels on their homes. Incentives could include things like discounts, cash back or credit on your utility bill each month. Some incentives are handled federally, while others are provided by the Pennsylvania government or by your utility company, county or municipality. Some solar incentives you might qualify for are:

• Net Metering: Net metering factors in after your solar system is up and running. If you have a net metering agreement in place with your Strasburg utility company, they will subtract the value of the excess energy produced by your solar system from your utility bill each month. In some areas, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in others you might receive a refund equivalent to a percentage of the value.
• Rebates: A solar rebate is a partial refund after the purchase of your solar system. Rebates may be offered by your local utility company, your county or your state. The rebates are usually applied before calculating tax credits.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the government. (This is different from a tax deduction.)
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other performance-based incentives might be available to you if the solar system on your home produces over a specified (usually small) amount of electricity. This category of incentives is typically handled by the state government. You can sell any SRECs you have to your utility company or other buyers, and the money you receive in return is generally considered part of your taxable income.
• Tax Exemptions: These might come in the form of property tax exemptions, which allow you to ignore the value of your solar system when paying property tax on your home. You may also qualify for an exemption on sales tax at the time of purchase.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have some knowledge of. One of the incentives that most people are probably familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This is a tax credit for a predetermined percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC can be applied 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 be eligible for the credit. Initially, the ITC applied to 30% of all system installation costs (panels, equipment, accessories and labor), 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 find out exactly how much the ITC could save you, contact your local Strasburg solar panel installation expert.

The ITC was both renewed and expanded by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. The Clean Energy Credit bolsters the current credit, increasing it up to 30% for solar systems installed between 2022 and 2032. At this point, the credit percentage will see a slight decrease annually until the program expires in 2035. The program expansion also makes credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim, starting in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. Your local Strasburg solar panel installation expert is the best person to answer your questions about the new Clean Energy Credit and how it will apply to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

In addition to federal solar incentives, there are often also state ones. Rebates, tax credits and more may be available at a more local level. These incentives might be distributed by the Pennsylvania government, or by your county or municipality. Some are ongoing, while others are available for a limited time.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Strasburg

You can apply for solar incentives from the federal government and the Pennsylvania government, as well as from your local utility company. The growing availability of solar initiatives over the last 15 years has helped increase nationwide solar energy use enormously. If you're prepared to make the change to solar energy, reaching out to your local Strasburg solar panel installation expert is a great first step.