Frankly speaking, investing in solar did not make sense as an alternative source of energy as recent as a decade ago. However, today solar is not only considered as viable and reliable alternative source of energy but a superior investment when compared to other choices on the market. Obviously the reason is not because the sun is producing more sunlight, but because governments of select countries decided to support solar in the form of various incentives and standards such as tax credits, accelerated depreciation, rebates, SREC’s, and federal grants.

For the same reasons, the U.S. was not a major player in solar as other countries such as Germany, Spain, Japan and Italy implemented these pro-solar policies while the U.S. lagged behind … until recently. Now the benefits include:

• Investment tax credit that provides a 30% tax credit on the total cost of the solar system
• A five year accelerated depreciation for commercial PV systems
• A renewable portfolio standard that requires utilities to provide their customers with a minimum percentage of renewable generation by statutory target dates (ex. CA must have 20% by 2010)
• State and Utility cash incentives that provides a dollar amount per installed watt of PV

As a result of these attractive incentives, solar system owners can now enjoy payback periods of 5 years as well as IRR’s of 18% and higher. To learn more about these benefits, be sure to contact your local Greentech consultant.