California Solar Project
News
September 01, 2010
- Re-hashing the 2010 Solar Incentive Report Card: Blue States and Red States
Check out the chart above. It is the same solar incentive report card we produced in part 4 of our 2010 report on the state of residential solar across the country, albeit with one difference. Yeah, blue and red states. My main impulse was not to rustle a regional divide between people in our country, yet instead to highlight differences in legislative policy and priorities.
I think it’s funny that more and more blowhards are tooting the “cut government spending” horn and pointing fingers at states that have relatively strong solar policies as prime targets of ill-advised socialist expenditures and “earmarks”. After all, the more these people toot, the more they are amplified by the mainstream media. That’s mainly because of a few billionaires with monetary interests aligned with force feeding political opinion into your eyes and ears.
I was curious to understand why so many red states lag so far behind in our report and started doing some more research this morning. I figured it can’t be just because of strong oil, gas, and coal lobbies. Could it? I found a ranking of federal dollars spent per dollar of taxes received in each state, and that raised my eyebrows. Here’s a great graphic which illustrates where dollars flow from and to Harvard guy (I marked the chart up to more clearly show the red and blue states):
If you affiliate yourself with Republican conservatives, you might be surprised to see a strong statistical relationship, but that the direction is the opposite from what you would expect: The red states (those that vote Republican) generally receive more subsidies from the federal government than they pay in taxes; in other words they are further to the right in the graph. It’s the other way around with the blue states (those that vote Democratic).
The big outlier in the graph is New Mexico, though they have several expensive air force bases and top secret stuff located in the state. I was interested to see the major sources of redistributed wealth are New Jersey, Nevada, Connecticut, Illinois, Delaware, California, New York, and Colorado. Those same states score very well in our solar incentive report above.
This trend in wealth redistribution in the form of subsidies is not a new one, here’s the trend from 1981-2005 which I just compiled from the Tax Foundation’s data:
The closer you get to being ranked #50, the lower the percentage of federal taxes that come from your state which actually gets spent in your state. Who is ranked #50? Well, here’s New Jersey, the state with arguably the best solar incentives in the country:
So, not only do the tax dollars in New Jersey flow mainly to Republican states which fare very poorly in our report solar report card, but New Jersey also manages to have the best solar incentives in the country. While those incentives start with a strong renewable portfolio standard instead of tax dollars, it is intriguing to note how money flows through country, and where progressive solar legislation gets enacted.
Perhaps it is not surprising why Glenn Beck was urging his followers to boycott the census. Maybe he didn’t want people to find out their state coffers have been (and continue to be) lined with Democrat dollars for decades.
- 2 days
source: (Solar Power Rocks)
August 31, 2010
- Charles takes offense to solar power in New Jersey
I had a spurt of creative energy this afternoon and decided to make a movie about how much sense solar power makes, particularly in New Jersey. In this little episode, smug Charles cannot contain his disdain for residential solar energy. Our smart thinker suggests he look into things further. I hope you like it!
- 3 days
source: (Solar Power Rocks)
August 28, 2010
- SPR Report Card 2010 – Part 10 – Solar Sales Tax Exemptions
When states give you a sales tax break on solar, we notice. You should too.
The chart above provides a simple reference for you to see if your solar investment is exempt from sales taxes. You’ll know you’re dealing with a shady installer if they include taxes on your system when there is no need! Then again, why would you be dealing with a shady installer in the first place when you could get a great group discount on solar from a trusted installer?
Taxes on large purchases aren’t something to shrug off! With purchases of solar systems in the 5 digits, you can expect a hefty surcharge, unless state legislatures reward you for your contribution to a growing green economy.
State sales tax exemption status for the purchase of solar energy systems were sourced from the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Energy Efficiency. Sales tax exemptions, if present, were all 100%. A handful of states are completely exempt from sales tax regardless, and therefore received ‘A’ grades by default (OR, DE, MT, AK, and NH).
- 7 days
source: (Solar Power Rocks)
August 27, 2010
- SPR Report Card 2010 – Part 9 – State Loans for Solar
Loans for solar!
Yes, these are the details on state loan programs available for those of you who do not have piles of disposable income lying around. While private financing is readily available in juicy solar states, many times the state loan options available cannot be beat. If you find yourself short on cash, but have good credit and own your home, a solid state loan program for solar energy can unlock the door to your solar investment.
I don’t understand your acronyms or the terms of the loans. Where can I find the links I need to apply for some of these loans?!
The specific details of each state’s loan program are located on your state’s solar page. Click your state on the right sidebar of this page for more info. Or, if you’d prefer request some more information from our solar experts. They’ll help you out in a jiffy.
What does “PACE” mean?
PACE stands for “Property Assessed Clean Energy”. Basically, the state allows your city to finance your solar energy installation with an assessment on your property taxes. Watch this video Dave narrated to learn why it is awesome and very important:
So PACE seems great, why are some states that passed legislation for PACE to work still getting failing grades?
While many state legislatures have indeed paved the way for cities in their state to finance energy improvements through property tax assessments, very few cities are equipped with the tools, support, or know-how to do anything about it. For specific cities, PACE is slowly getting off the ground. We’ve noted those areas above by stating, “PACE programs”.
The big elephants in the room are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who scoff at the idea of a solar installers or any other contractors being paid off immediately through property taxes instead of them. That complicates things!
- 7 days
source: (Solar Power Rocks) - SPR Report Card 2010 – Part 8 – Property Tax Exemptions
About this section of the report
While rated at just 3% of the overall report card summary grade, property tax exemption status is a very important consideration when putting together your solar investment information. The availability of a property tax exemption for solar energy was sourced from the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Energy Efficiency. The stronger the tax exemption, the higher the grade.
Why should I care about property tax exemptions for solar?
When you add solar panels to your roof, you’re adding value to your home. Not only are solar panels beautiful, they produce a clean, economical, and reliable source of electricity for your family. Some states ding you with added property tax for your forward thinking, while others reward your common sense with a tax exemption.
How much value will solar add to my home?
Solar will immediately add approximately twenty times your annual electricity bill savings immediately to the value of your home upon installation. For many 5kW systems, that amounts to about $20,000. Don’t believe it? Check out this video!
Whoa, that’s a lot of property value increase!
Indeed it is. However, an additional $20,000 in property tax basis in many states amounts to a big chunk of change owed back to the state come tax time. If you’re lucky enough to live in a state with a complete exemption from added taxes, you can breathe a sigh of satisfaction that your state legislators are doing something right!
- 7 days
source: (Solar Power Rocks)
