With the current Presidential Administration in place, Renewable Energy and in particular Solar Energy has been getting a lot of press and attention on television, in the papers, radio, social media and more. Particularly, solar incentives. Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, it’s a great time to go solar. That’s because solar is clean, safe, reliable, and a good deal! Plus, it’s a way to do your part in the fight against climate change. Though going solar may seem daunting from a high level, there are several New Hampshire solar incentives that can help you overcome any financial hurdles you see in your way.

Federal Tax Credit 

First and foremost for the New Hampshire solar incentives is the Federal Investment Tax Credit (the ITC). With the ITC any solar project you install on your house will qualify for a 26% Federal Tax Credit. That includes all of the expenses associated with it too. Meaning, that if you have a few trees that need to come down to make solar work for you and you do that, that’s included. Or if you want a solar battery that will give you a whole house power backup capability that too would be included. Just add up all the costs and when you file for taxes before April 15th, you will get 26% of the total cost for your system as a tax credit. That could be worth several thousand dollars and with a battery it could be even more.

As an example, if your system and related expenses are $20,000, your tax credit would be  $5,200!

And remember a tax credit is not the same as a tax deduction. A tax credit is a reduction in the Federal taxes you owe dollar for dollar. For example, if after all of your regular deductions your total tax bill for the year is $10,000, your solar tax credit of $5,200 would mean you only owe $4,800. So that means that if you typically only get a little or no money back at tax time (because your Federal tax withholdings match your total tax bill for the year), you’ll get the full investment credit amount back as a tax refund. Not a bad deal at all.

Net Metering as a Solar Incentive

Another example of New Hampshire solar incentives offered by most utilities is ‘Net Metering’. Net Metering is important because you often won’t use all of the solar energy generated during the day, so instead it will go back to the utility grid. In essence, your meter will count backwards and as a result  you’ll receive credit for it. Then, when the sun goes down you will use those credits to pay for it.

Residential Renewable Electrical Generation Rebate Program

Yet another one of the New Hampshire solar incentives offered is a rebate by the New Hampshire Public Utility Commission. Back in 2018 a fund was set up where rebates would be offered to qualifying residents with solar systems. Install a system, earn a rebate!

Rebates were $0.20 per watt of the installed solar panels’ rated power up to $1000, or 30% of the total system cost, whichever is less.

At the time of this writing, this particular rebate is in suspension, but it is expected to restart in the Summer of 2021. If you are interested, let us know. We’ll do our best to update you if and when we get any news.

Financing

Last, solar systems can be financed either through your own regular home equity loan or through a special solar loan. In our case, New England Clean Energy can help you set up such a loan with Sungage Financial.

In many situations, a loan can basically let you trade the monthly payments you are making to your utility for payments to your lender. Of course the difference is that you’ll eventually pay off your loan and then have a next to nothing electric bill from there on out. (We’re not going to say zero because there may be some small unavoidable utility fees and/or you may not cover 100% of your electricity usage, but everyone’s “mileage” will vary.)

And further, solar specific loans are generally at pretty low rates. We currently can get you a loan at a rate as low as 1.99% (the rate depends on the term you choose). Plus, a solar loan allows you to borrow the Investment Tax Credit portion of the loan at 0% for the first year. Then at tax time you can simply take your tax rebate and payoff that portion of the loan or, if you prefer, roll the borrowed credit amount into the rest of the principal and use your tax refund somewhere else.

Our Referral Program is also an example of New Hampshire Solar Incentives!

Finally, would you like to make an easy $500? If you refer someone who purchases a solar system from New England Clean Energy, you can qualify for a $500 referral fee and money in your pocket! The person you refer to us will also get a $500 discount on their new system.

Plus, there are no limits. So if you give us three referrals that all go solar you’ve just earned $1,500 that you can use to pay for your own system. 

But There Is No Free Lunch

I hope this has been informative for you and helps with your decision about going solar. But I would be remiss in not mentioning that, as with most everything else in this world, remember that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Meaning to say, there are no free solar panels despite what you might see on the Internet. Solar can save you money and help you reduce your carbon footprint. It also costs less than it has ever before with these New Hampshire solar incentives. But a quality system, from a quality installer, is still a major investment. One that will easily last at least three decades and pay for itself, but there is an upfront cost involved. So my advice is to stick with quality products at the best value instead of cutting corners. Let us help you get the best investment and maximum incentives possible.

For more information:

To learn more about Solar from New England Clean Energy;

https://newenglandcleanenergy.com/ 

For Generac Storage systems;

https://www.generac.com/all-products/clean-energy/pwrcell 

For the NH Public Utilities Commission;

https://www.puc.nh.gov/Sustainable%20Energy/RenewableEnergyRebates-SREG.html