Citizens and governments globally are taking solar power seriously. A great way to boost the use of solar power is to reduce the initial investment cost for homes and businesses. In various nations, various incentives allow ordinary people to afford PV panel installations. Here are some of the programs offered around the world.
Solar Investment Tax Credit
A tax credit lets consumers pay off their annual tax bill using up to a specific percentage of the cost of solar system installation. For instance, you could receive a tax credit of up to 20% for installing a PV system that cost £6,000. In such a case, you could reduce the amount of payable tax by £1,200. Such a tax credit is usually a one-off and reduces the upfront cost of installing the system. It also speeds up the payback period for the system.
Net Metering
Net metering is one of the most common solar incentive programs in the world. It lets you sell excess solar energy to the power company for a profit. The profits are sent to you in credits instead of cash. In some cases, you could zero o negative electricity bills depending on the sunshine and efficiency of your system. Just like tax credits, it helps to speed up the payment period for the solar system. Besides that, it eliminates the need to buy solar storage.
The Feed-in Tariff
Under the feed-in tariff, you will monetize the power generated by your solar panels. However, it also raises the possibility of receive cash instead of credits. The program could let you sell power at above-market rates, which makes it quite lucrative. However, the program is not offered in many nations around the world. In the UK, the program is available, although it was closed to new applicants in 2019.
Solar Rebates
Solar rebates are the same as cash rebates. Under this program, you buy a new solar system, fill out a form, and you get cash. It is a great way to reduce the cost of installation by up to 20% or higher in some countries.
Other Incentives
Besides programs run at the national level, there are usually incentives at the local government level. These programs will vary from council to council. To know if your local government offers such a program, you should contact them and ask them about it.
Take Advantage of Them Now
Being paid for installing a solar system feels great. It is especially so when you are getting money from the government. However, such programs will not last forever. These incentives aim to get people to adopt solar power as early adopters.
As more people start to use solar power, these incentives will go away or be scaled back gradually. In some countries where the adoption of solar is high, some incentives have been scrapped. As a result, you need to take advantage of every existing program in place right now. Besides that, such programs in the UK come with planned higher taxes on fuels for the transport sector. As a result, if you do not take advantage of them, you could end up paying more for fuel without offsetting the cost somewhere else.
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