Solar Incentives Running Out Quickly for Massachusetts and Connecticut

Everyone says history repeats itself. With solar incentives, the story doesn‘t change. You have to act fast if you want a piece of the photovoltaic subsidies in Massachusetts and Connecticut. If you are on the fence whether to go solar, you should see if it makes sense sooner rather than later.

Both Massachusetts and Connecticut are known for having some of the best solar subsidies in the country. Massachusetts residents especially should make out well on their solar investments with their newly introduced SREC program. Homeowners and businesses in the Bay State can lock in rates for SRECs for a 10 year term. That’s huge! In addition to the federal 30 percent tax credit (no cap), homeowners can receive a 15% personal state tax credit up to a $1,000 and a rebate that can range from $1 to $2.10/watt. Since the beginning of the year, funding has already been reached for Block 1 and 2 of the Commonwealth Solar II rebate program and Block 3 should begin in early July. I am confident in saying now is the best time in the state’s history to make an investment in photovoltaic power.

Connecticut is in a much different situation than Massachusetts. Its level of support for solar incentives has been declining from its peak five years ago. To make the outlook even bleaker, the Governor of Connecticut vetoed a very important piece of legislation that would create the state’s own SREC system and ensure that solar incentives would continue. Funding for commercial PV rebates ended in 2009 and, at last count, the residential PV rebate program had less than $1.5 million to fund additional residential projects. That means only about a 100 homes will qualify for a rebate.

If you‘re having a hard time believing now is the best time to invest in solar, let’s take a look at California and Florida, two states with once generous rebates. California’s rebates from PG&E are said to decrease to $.65/watt for most customers down from original rate of $2.50/watt. Florida’s solar rebate program was so popular that they ran out of funds. Floridians had enjoyed a very generous incentive of $4/watt up to $20,000 per residential project. Right now, $14 million in energy rebates are owed and even a bailout by the federal government isn’t going to help. Typically, the solar installer will front the money for the rebates so I’m sure it’s a mix of installers and the homeowners caught holding the bag.