2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Beckley, WV - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

The phrase "solar incentives" covers a range of financial incentives put in place to make installing and using solar panels more affordable. This is done to encourage people to switch to renewable energy. Different kinds of incentives, such as discounts, cash back or monthly utility bill credits, may be available to you. Some incentives may be provided via the West Virginia government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Types of solar incentives might include:

• Tax Exemptions: These might come in the form of property tax exemptions, which let you ignore the value of your solar system when paying property tax on your home. They may also include exemptions on sales tax at the time of purchase.
• 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 you purchase solar panels and before tax credits are calculated.
• Net Metering: Net metering becomes relevant after your solar panels are up and running. If you've signed a net metering agreement with your Beckley utility company, they will subtract the value of the excess energy produced by your solar system from your utility bill each month. In some locations, this is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in others you might be refunded a percentage of the value.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the federal government. Tax credits differ from tax deductions.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the type of incentives that you are most likely to have some knowledge of. The solar incentive that you may be most familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which gives you a credit on your taxes equal to a specified percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC applies towards solar systems installed after January 1, 2006, and lets you deduct from your taxes a percentage of the total cost of solar panels, labor, accessories and equipment. This credit can be claimed on a solar panel system installed on a primary or secondary residence that you own in the United States. The original claim amount was 30% of the total cost, although the amount you can claim may range between 26-30%. There is no maximum claim amount.

To best understand how the ITC will apply to you, reach out to your local Beckley solar panel installer and ask for 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. American homeowners can now receive a 30% credit for solar systems that began installation on or after January 1, 2022, and will be done by December 31, 2032. The credit will then see a slight annual decrease until the date of expiration. The program 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. To understand how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you, talk to your local Beckley solar installation expert.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives are often also provided by state and local governments. Similar to federal incentives, these may include tax credits, rebates and more. These incentives — which might be given by the state of West Virginia, or by your county or municipality — might be offered for only a limited time, or on an ongoing basis.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Beckley

Solar energy use nationwide has gone up tremendously in the past 15 years, in part due to the growth in the number of solar incentives. You might receive these incentives from the federal government, the West Virginia government or your local utility company. Your local Beckley solar panel installation company can give you more information about which incentives you may qualify for, and get you started on the path to switching to renewable energy today.