2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Greenville, SC - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives mitigate the cost of installing a solar panel system on your home. This category of financial incentives is intended to encourage more people to convert their home partially or fully to renewable energy. Different kinds of incentives, like discounts, cash back or monthly utility bill credits, might be available to you. Some incentives may be handled by the South Carolina government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Tax Exemptions: Sales tax exemptions are effective at the point of sale for your solar system. Property tax exemptions allow you to ignore the value that your solar panels add when you're calculating the amount of property tax you need to pay.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions that lower the amount of income tax you owe the federal government. (A tax credit is different from a tax deduction.)
• Net Metering: Net metering is an incentive you can get after your solar system is up and running. If you've signed a net metering agreement with your Greenville utility company, the company will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your monthly utility bill. In some places, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in other places you might receive a refund equivalent to a percentage of the value.
• Rebates: Rebates, or cash back after a purchase, are normally given prior to any solar tax credits being calculated. Solar rebates can be offered by your local utility company, by your state or by your county.

Federal Solar Incentives

When thinking about solar incentives, federal incentives may be the first thing that comes to mind. 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 certain percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC applies to solar panels installed after January 1, 2006 on a primary or secondary residence in the United States that you own. Originally, the tax credit was for 30% of the total cost — for panels, accessories, labor and equipment — although the percentage may range from 26-30%, depending on when your solar system was installed. There is no cap on the claim amount.

Reaching out to your local Greenville solar panel installation expert is the best way to learn more about how the ITC could apply to you.

The ITC was renewed and increased in scope after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. With the new provisions, solar installation projects begun after January 1, 2022 and finished by December 31, 2032 may be eligible for a 30% tax credit. This percentage will then decrease slightly each year until the current Clean Energy Credit expires in 2035. The expansion also makes it easier to get credit for energy storage systems, starting in 2023.

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 might apply to you is to talk with your local Greenville solar panel installers.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives are often also provided by state and local governments. Like with federal incentives, these might include tax credits, rebates and more. Incentives might be handled by the state of South Carolina, or by your county or municipality. Some incentives are available for only a limited time, while others are ongoing.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Greenville

You can apply for solar incentives from the South Carolina government and the federal 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. If you're prepared to make the switch to solar energy, talking to your local Greenville solar panel installation expert is an excellent place to start.