Federal Renewable Energy Tax Credits

Renewable tax credits

A lot of people I have spoken with either still don’t know about the energy tax credits, or think they had expired last year. And if you are one of those people out there, you have come to the right place for the skinny on the energy tax credits. Not only haven’t they expired, but the big ones are still going to be available until 2016!

So, here is a basic list of what’s out there and how it might affect you.

The big one, of course, is the whole house energy system tax credit. This is a whopping 30% tax credit on the purchase of specific renewable or sustainable energy saving devices. The units that qualify are solar water heating and solar electric systems, small wind systems, geothermal heat pumps, and residential fuel cell and micro-turbine systems.  ( continued below )

Granted, solar cells and windmills are not going to be cheap, and will take years for them to to pay for themselves, but some of these units are incredibly cost effective. For example, solar water heating systems are priced in the 2000 to 3000 dollar range, and by using the tax credit, they may pay for themselves in just a couple of years. After that, it’s free hot water. Also, many individual states are giving tax rebates and other incentives above and beyond the federal

tax guidelines, so always check with state regulations too.

Electric cars qualify for a $7,500 dollar tax credit until 200,000 of the manufacturers vehicles are sold. That essentially means that you need to get an electric vehicle before the quota is reached. Also, individual states offer their own tax credits which makes buying an electric vehicle even more attractive. Right now both the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt come to mind, but by next year and beyond, virtually every car manufacturer is going to have an electric vehicle that qualifies for this tax credit.

Electric 2 and 3 wheel type scooters also qualify for a 10% tax credit, and these are affordable for almost everyone. Many modern electric scooters will give you 25-plus mile range at about 30 miles per hour. These are the perfect commuter vehicles in big cities or college campuses. But hurry on this one. The credit ends on January 1st, 2012.

So there you have it. The skinny on the federal renewable energy tax credits. Hey, you tune in to Detect Energy for the latest and greatest, and we got your back.