Seacoastonline.com posted a recent interview between reporter Kelly Hearn and Kate Epsen, an analyst for the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission.

In the interview, Ms. Epsen recaps the new incentives available for businesses in New Hampshire, as well as other financing models and talking generally about the advantages of distributed electrical generation.

In response to the question, “Can you help us understand distributed form of electrical generations as opposed to the fossil-fueled power plant model?”

KE: Traditionally our model of getting electricity involves a central power plant that creates electricity by combusting coal or natural gas. Of course there are large hydroelectric facilities, but there are fewer of those. The electricity gets transported through transmission lines into a distribution grid that then comes to our home or business.

Distributed generated includes solar electric, small wind turbines, or perhaps a co-generation plant that involves a turbine that is fired by natural gas. These are usually located at the source of the electrical load. So power gets generated and used at the same point, which alleviates the need to transmit the energy, which in turns means less load loss. Generating energy at the point of use also allows the user or owner of the system to protect himself or herself against future price increases in energy if the fuel source is a renewable one, such as wind or solar.

Ms. Epsen closes by stating that “the system design and installation phase of the solar industry is the strongest segment right now in New Hampshire,” noting the “dozens of entities, designing, planning, selling at retail and installing systems across the state.”

You read the full interview here. Or visit our page for a recap of the available New Hampshire solar incentives!

Make it a Sunny New Year!

There is bright news for both homeowners and businesses who are ready to make 2011 the year they finally go solar – several federal credits remain in place or have been extended.

In short:

• The uncapped 30% federal tax credit on residential solar electric and solar hot water systems remains in effect through 2016.
• In 2011 businesses can get a 30% federal cash grant in lieu of a tax credit, on top of state rebates (up to $2,000 in Maine, up to $50,000 in New Hampshire)
• Through 2012 bonus depreciation has been extended, allowing businesses to take up to 100% of the depreciation benefit of a solar energy system in year one for systems installed in 2011, and up to 50% in year one for systems installed in 2012 (with the rest coming over the next five years)

Read on for more specifics about each incentive.

Residential 30% Federal Tax Credit

The 30% federal tax credit is called the “Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit” and was established by the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005.

This credit was initially capped at $2,000 for solar energy systems, but was expanded by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to be an uncapped rebate for 30% of the cost of a renewable energy system (both photovoltaic and solar thermal are eligible, along with small wind and geothermal heat pumps).

The 30% includes all cost of labor as well as equipment costs for the renewable energy system. The credit can also be carried forward to future tax years if you cannot take the full credit in the year the system was installed.

More information:

• A homeowner claims the 30% credit on IRS 5695, Residential Energy Credits (PDF)
• The Solar Energy Industries Association has a great solar federal tax incentive FAQ
• Also see DSIRE – Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit

Note: This credit is not to be confused with the “Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit,” which expired in 2010. That credit specifically applied to home “energy efficient” improvements, specifically:

• Biomass stoves (wood and pellets)
• HVAC equipment
• Insulation
• Windows and doors
• Roofing improvements

If you did purchase any of the above that meet Energy Star criteria, you can claim up to $1,500 on your 2010 taxes. See Energy Star’s website.

Treasury Grant in Lieu of a 30% Investment Tax Credit

In late 2010 Congress extended the 1603 Program: Payments for Specified Energy Property in Lieu of Tax Credits.

This incentive allows businesses to receive a cash grant from the US Treasury in lieu of waiting until they file their taxes to receive the 30% federal tax credit (called the Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC), but with similar rules as the residential program).

By having access to the treasury grant, the program allows businesses to receive the full amount of the emergy credit even if they do not have enough tax liability to take the full 30%.

It also helps all businesses by getting cash into their hands more quickly, rather than waiting until they can file their taxes.

More information:

MACRS + Bonus Depreciation

Under federal tax code, renewable energy systems qualify for a 5-year Modified Accelerated Cost-Recovery System (MACRS) depreciation schedule.

The exact benefit of this depreciation is complicated and varies depending on your businesses’ tax rate, but typically it adds up to an additional 25% of a solar energy project’s cost being offset by reduced tax payments.

To further sweeten this incentive, in 2011 bonus depreciation has been extended, letting a business enjoy most of the benefit in year one, rather than waiting for the entire five year schedule.

DSIRE sums it up nicely:

The federal Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, enacted in February 2008, included a 50% first-year bonus depreciation (26 USC § 168(k)) provision for eligible renewable-energy systems acquired and placed in service in 2008. This provision was extended (retroactively for the entire 2009 tax year) under the same terms by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, enacted in February 2009. Bonus depreciation was renewed again in September 2010 (retroactively for the entire 2010 tax year) by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (H.R. 5297).

In December 2010 the provision for bonus depreciation was amended and extended yet again by The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4853). Under these amendments, eligible property placed in service after September 8, 2010 and before January 1, 2012 qualifies for 100% first-year bonus depreciation. For 2012, bonus depreciation is still available, but the allowable deduction reverts from 100% to 50% of the eligible basis.

The short of this is that a business that installs a qualifying solar energy system in 2011 can enjoy a 100% bonus depreciation the first year the system is commissioned, rather than waiting for the entire 5 year depreciation schedule. Also, a 50% bonus depreciation is available through 2012.

Given the time value of money and the tough economic climate, this benefit helps make solar energy systems more accessible in the near-term by businesses that will be able to save significant fossil fuel energy costs over the life of the system.

In fact, between the treasury grant, bonus depreciation, and generous state rebates, many businesses (particularly heavy water users like inns and restaurants) can enjoy a year-one payback on solar energy systems!

More information:

What Do Rebates Mean for Me?

Here are a few example solar energy projects to help illustrate how federal incentives affect solar energy economics.

Scenario #1- Residential SHW system

$10,500 installed cost
-$1,000 ME Solar Rebate (avg. $2,600 NH state rebate)
-$3,150 30% Fed Tax Credit
$6,350 Final Cost (40% savings with current incentives)

Scenario #2- Residential PV system 4kw (5,200 kWh/yr)

$19,000 installed cost
-$2,000 ME Solar Rebate (currently no NH state rebate)
-$5,700 30% Fed Tax Credit
$11,300 Final Cost (40% savings with current incentives)

Scenario #3- Commercial PV system

$100,000 installed cost
-$2,000 ME Solar Rebate (up to $50,000 in New Hampshire)
-$28,900 accelerated depreciation – avoided taxes over 5 years thanks to lowered net income, assumes 34% marginal tax bracket
-$30,000 30% Fed Tax Credit
$39,100 Final Cost (60% savings with current incentives)

Interested in learning more? Contact Revision Energy for a free consultation about how to take full advantage of the current government incentives available for renewable energy projects.

Clean energy advocates in New Hampshire have two big reasons to be thankful this season – the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission has announced an expansion of the solar hot water rebate available to homeowners and has released the application for their commercial solar hot water and solar electric rebate (PDF).

Here are some details on both programs:

Residential Solar Thermal is Hot

The solar hot water rebate in New Hampshire is tiered based on the performance of the system, which is expressed in MMBTU / year. This consists of a state rebate that ranges from $600-900 and a federal rebate which has been raised from $750 to $2,000.

Here’s what the rebate program looks like for different kinds of systems:

For a typical residential project (2 flat plate collectors which produce ~18.25MMBTU/yr) installed at a cost of around $10,500, the incentives amount to $5,750, well over half the cost of the system!

The rebates are retroactive, as well, so if you recently installed a solar hot water system and qualified for the New Hampshire state rebate, you can expect a holiday gift from the PUC soon.

Rebates Arrive for Business

The solar hot water system for Moat Mountain Brewpub will save the brewery an estimate 520 gallons of oil a year

Equally exciting is the arrival of the much anticipated commercial solar hot water and solar electric rebate.

This program makes $1,000,000 available to solar thermal and solar electric projects for businesses, schools, municipalities, apartment buildings – basically any structure not eligible under the residential program.

The rebates are pretty straightforward:

• Photovoltaic (Solar Electric): $1/Watt up to $50,000 (or 25% of the project cost, whatever is less)
• Solar Thermal rebate: $0.07 per kBTU/year up to $50,000 (or 25% of the project cost, whatever is less)

Like the residential solar hot water program, a RETScreen modeling analysis is used to calculate the kBTU/year performance of the solar hot water systems.  Solar electric is fixed based on the nominal wattage.

Solar Economics are Amazing

The generous rebate makes it extremely attractive to invest in solar if you’re a business.  Let’s take, for example, a medium scale solar thermal project for a business that uses a lot of hot water – a hotel or retirement home, perhaps – and is currently heating that water with oil.

We’ll propose a system of 20 flat plate hot water collectors and several super-insulated tanks that will produce over 182,500,000 BTUs/year of clean thermal energy.  We’ll imagine that the system will save 2,300 gallons of #2 oil per year, a result of both reduced oil use and greatly reducing standby losses of the oil boiler in the summertime.

Assuming this hot water system costs around $100,000 gross to install, the fuel savings alone will pay for the cost of the system within its first decade of operation.

However, now there is an exciting suite of rebates to apply:

$100,000 gross installed cost
($30,000) federal tax credit
($28,900) accelerated depreciation – avoided taxes over 5 years thanks to lowered net income, assumes 34% marginal tax bracket
($12,775) state rebate – $0.07/modeled kBtu/year
$28,325 net investment – less than a third of the total cost of the project!

Within this new context, that same solar hot water system will pay for itself within two years thanks to the fuel savings.

While the wasteful boiler imagined in this formula is a “best case” scenario for solar, the economics work out for businesses of all sizes who are ready to both take an enormous cut out of their carbon emissions and save money while doing it.

Contact us for more information about both the commercial and residential solar rebates or to schedule a free site evaluation.

Photo by woodleywonderworks

Today is Earth Day, which means a lot of attention to planting trees, cleaning up trash, recycling, and – more than ever before – working to make the energy we consume more sustainable.

We hope that means more people will be looking to the sun for a solution!

This weekend you can catch us at two events to talk about solar – one in New Hampshire, and another in southern Maine.

2nd Annual Earth Awareness Fair! – Apr 24 10AM – 2PM in Hampton, NH

Held at the Hampton Academy School, 29 Academy Avenue, Hampton, NH (Map and Directions), the purpose of the Fair is to draw attention to the 3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, energy conservation, and sustainability.

Money raised will go to the Recycling Education Committee to further promote recycling education. Additionally, as part of the effort to “Reuse”, we are encouraging neighborhood “yard sales”. The event is sponsored by the Hampton Recycling Education Committee.

We’ll be there to talk about clean energy solutions for homes and businesses, and the available rebates and incentives in New Hampshire.

In addition to a 30% uncapped federal tax credit, solar electricity is eligible for a $6,000 rebate from the state of New Hampshire, and New Hampshire’s PUC recently launched a rebate that averages $1,250 for solar hot water systems. Furthermore, NH residents within the New Hampshire Electrical Co-op may be eligible for an additional $1,500 rebate.

Kittery Earth Day – Apr 24 10AM – 3PM in Kittery, ME

Held at Kittery’s Autoworks, (Map and Directions)

This event is being hosted by the Kittery Energy Advisory Committee in conjunction with Spruce Creek Association and the Kittery Land Trust. There will be mini-workshops with speakers to talk about energy saving ideas and information about the recent award of the $500,000 regional block grant.

If you weren’t already aware, residents of the KEYS area (Kittery, Eliot, York, South Berwick – as well as Ogunquit and North Berwick) will be eligible for low-interested loans of up to $10,000 for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects (see an article in The Green Alliance newsletter).

ReVision will there to discuss solar hot water and solar electric options for the home and business, and how these proven renewable energy systems can decrease your energy bills and help the environment.

Every Day is Earth Day?

The phrase “Every Day is Earth Day” may sound like a cliche, but it’s not if you’re running a renewable energy system on your house. With solar hot water or solar power, you’ll be offsetting fossil fuel use and enjoying the benefits of a clean energy system that will operate trouble-free for years to come.

Come join us this weekend to learn more!

Janet Ward, a friend of ReVision Energy in Concord, New Hampshire, recently alerted us to some questionable legislation making its way through the New Hampshire State Senate.

Bill SB 334, which states that it is “encouraging the installation and use of small scale renewable energy resources by homeowners and businesses,” is coming under fire because it would allow Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) to divert $5 million of money that should purchase renewable energy credits for a single solar development project in Manchester.

As reported from the New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association:

PSNH is asking the New Hampshire House of Representatives for permission to fund a single solar energy project in Manchester with funds it is supposed to use to purchase Renewable Energy Certificates or pay into the State’s Renewable Energy Fund(REF).

The REF funds are intended to be available throughout the State for renewable energy projects to benefit residents, small businesses, and municipalities. The funds are vital to the small businesses which are building New Hampshire’s green economy.

The PSNH project, funded via the RPS program, undermines investment in New Hampshire’s small business future.

The bit of legislation that is causing the controversy:

In lieu of PSNH making payments under RSA 362-F:10 for class II electric renewable energy standard obligations or purchasing certificates, as defined in RSA 362-F:2, III, to comply with RSA 362-F class II electric renewable energy standard obligations, beginning upon the effective date of this act PSNH shall retain such payments and utilize $5,000,000 of such amounts to invest in the development of the solar photovoltaic renewable energy project in Manchester. The amounts retained by PSNH shall be used to amortize the outstanding capital investment for the project. When the nominal payments retained by PSNH equal $5,000,000, PSNH shall return to routine compliance with RSA 362-F:10 for going-forward class II electric renewable energy standard obligations.

What This Means

Under current law, the $5,000,000 would go towards the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (the Renewable Portfolio Standard or RPS) or pay into the New Hampshire’s Renewable Energy Fund (REF).

According to The Green Energy Times, “The REF funds are intended to be available throughout the State for renewable energy projects which benefit residents, small businesses, and municipalities. The funds are vital to the small businesses which are building New Hampshire’s green economy.”

In other words, the act would allow PSNH to create their own special project and avoid the current process, which incentivizes small businesses and entrepreneurs to create renewable energy projects, and drives a competitive renewable energy marketplace.

RPS requires New Hampshire to generate 16 percent of new energy from renewable resources such as wind, solar, biomass and hydro by 2025, and Renewable Energy World predicts New Hampshire’s energy will be 22-25% renewable by 2025 should the effort be successful.

Performance requirements for the PSNH project are not defined in the bill, though there is some verbiage in the Bill that suggests that performance of the PSNH project would be subject to review.

Opponents to SB 334 claim that the RPS program has led to regular employment for 126 electricians and solar installers and grants for more than 270 renewable energy projects across New Hampshire. In contrast, they claim that the PSNH project will create only five full jobs a year, “at a cost of $1 million per full-time position.”

What You Can Do

ReVision Energy encourages you to read about the legislation and then take action – there is a great amount of information as well as links to newspaper articles and opinion pieces at http://www.nhsea.org/public-policy.php.

You can contact members of the New Hampshire House Science, Energy and Technology Committee via e-mail: HouseScienceTechnologyandEnergy@leg.state.nh.us or visit the New Hampshire House website for for complete contact information for the Committee.

Most importantly, you can attend the Committee’s Public Hearing on SB 334, which will be held this Thursday, April 15 at 1pm in room 304 of the Legislative Office Building, 33 North State Street, Concord, New Hampshire (map and directions).

April is here and the ample sun shining down is a great reminder that solar season is upon us!  Our solar hot water meter reads a toasty 147 degrees, reminding us that from now until September there will be little shortage of guilt-free hot water.

@SolarFred, AKA Tor Valenza, is kick-starting the solar industry by declaring that April is Solar Quote Month, and ReVision is here to support the effort.

If you aren’t in the process of getting a quote or installing a system, we encourage you to make April the month you choose to get started.

Here are three reasons why you should contact ReVision for a FREE solar evaluation (or have us refresh an existing quote!):

1. All Time Low Costs for Solar Tech – As we reported in January, costs for solar panels are at an all time low, which puts solar in the grasp of many more people.  If you’ve had us quote you a system a year or more ago, contact us again for a refreshed quote, you may be surprised at how much more affordable it is!
2. Great incentives are here – Federal tax credits and outstanding state rebates make it almost a no-brainer to go solar.  For both solar hot water and solar electric, you can expect an average $3,000 rebate from the federal government.  In Maine, additional incentives range from $1,000 (hot water) to $1,500 (PV).  In New Hampshire there is a $6,000 tax credit for PV, and up to $1,500 for hot water depending on where you live (contact us for details).  And last but not least, Sunpower is offering an additional $1,500 rebate of their own, valid only for the month of April!
3. The time is right! While incentives make solar financially viable for many more people, ultimately you’re investing in a better future for our planet.  We were staggered to realize that the last decade was the hottest on record, which reminds us how imperative it is that we change our relationship to energy NOW.

It’s never been a better time to invest in solar, and what better time than the present to get started?  You can be enjoying free hot water from the sun or offsetting your energy usage by the end of the summer!

New Hampshire’s Electric Co-op (NHEC) has announced a limited number of $1,500 rebates for solar hot water systems. This $1,500 incentive is in addition to the existing 30% federal tax credit, making clean solar energy affordable to many more New Hampshire-ites!

Here are a few guidelines about the new rebate:

• You need to be a member to the co-op.  See: http://www.nhec.com/residential_requestinformation.php
• There is a simple pre-approval project form available online.  We can help you through the process if you need us!  See: http://www.smallsteps.coop/uploadcache/SHW_APPLICATION_2010.pdf (PDF Download)
• You’ll need some photos of your intended solar location, a proposal, system description, and an equipment list.  ReVision Energy is happy to provide all of things for you and we’ll do so during as a follow-up to a free site evaluation.

The application is first-come, first-serve… so get started now!  ReVision happily offers a free consultation and site evaluation at your home or business in Maine or New Hampshire.

It’s tax time, and while that’s a cause for groans from many, you can be happy if you finished installation of a solar energy system in 2009!

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 was greatly enhanced in February 2009 by the federal stimulus plan, which eliminated a $2,000 cap on the federal tax rebate for solar electric systems. The current federal tax credit for solar hot water and solar electric is 30%, with no upper limit.

Unlike state cash rebates, you apply for the federal tax credit when you submit your regular 2009 personal income taxes.

Here’s a link to the IRS Form 5695 that you’ll need (PDF): http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5695.pdf.

While ReVision Energy can’t offer you tax advice, we encourage you to read up about the tax credit at DSIRE and consult with your tax advisor about the best way to file for the tax credit.

Also, this act has been extended through 2016, so you have time in 2010 to take advantage of this great incentive!

Contact us with any questions you have about solar rebates.