Comments on: North Carolina Solar Power Rebates, Tax Credits, and Incentives

By: Shay

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:54:36 +0000

Hi, what if you only want partial for now? we don’t completely want to go off the grid at this time but would love to invest in some solar panels to help our electric bill. Thanks

By: andy

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:25:07 +0000

Robb,

Unless you mean turn EVERYTHING off during the day, net metering won’t mean anything to you with 300 watts, because your fridge alone will use what that much panel produces. Throw in a few “phantom” loads like a clock or two, your TV/sat dish/DSL router/etc, and you have nothing to worry about with net,because you won’t be producing any excess at all.

By: Alex Allen

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:23:51 +0000

Good evening, I am a junior at West Davidson High School and I am writing a research paper on how solar energy is the most beneficial alternative energy source. It is required to interview a professional or representative knowledgeable on the topic. Below are 10 brief questions that I would be highly appreciative of, if they could be answered as quickly as possible. Thank you for your time and help!
-Alex Allen

1)What are some of the major benefits of solar energy?

2)Briefly, how do solar panels function?

3)What are the general prices of solar panels and their installation?

4)How energy efficient are solar panels today?

5)Who invented the solar panel?

6)What is the average lifespan of solar panels?

7)What factors should a person consider when they are deciding to buy solar panels?

8)What materials are used to develop solar panels?

9)Is it cheaper to buy solar power for industrial purposes or for residential homes/businesses?

10)Generally, how long does it take for the solar panels to pay off the initial costs of themselves?

By: robb

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 03:24:16 +0000

very informative site.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 under Sec.1251, all public electric utilities are now required to make available upon request Net Metering to their customers.

So i bought a couple solar panels and a power inverter, 300 watts not much but being a single guy i can turn off everything when i go to work and my meter will spin backwards all day.
The Act says upon request so i requested the power company get me set up. Even after i informed them of the Energy Policy Act and that on their own website it says that they do offer net metering, i was told they do not have to and they will not. Can they still deny net metering to their customers really?
Energy United in Alexander county.
robbthebuilder@yahoo.com

By: Peter Fland

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 19:59:59 +0000

I am using a Macbook Pro and I do not have excel. i do have a spreadsheet that is part of an apple suite. Evidently this is making it impossible for me to enter my billing information so that I can see how this will play out. I currently reside in NJ and am moving to North Carolina and want to install solar in our new home. I know that my average kwh usage is 1345/mo and my last year of usage was 16,144 kwh. Our average bill is around 280. Could you input the data into your spreadsheet and email it back to me?

Thanks

By: Scot

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 05:21:57 +0000

Thanks for some great info. Are tax credit available to an individual home owner that installs/builds their own system?

By: Zac

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:55:31 +0000

Awesome so they have created a system with absolutely no incentive for a private enterprise to put solar power anywhere showing their half hearted politicians adherance to the idea of renewable energy. Hence the don’t allow anyone to make money off of solar energy part of this plan.

By: Bob

Sun, 30 May 2010 18:47:40 +0000

Can you tell us how a person can take advantage of the state tax credit if you are retired with no state income? Does property tax and/or sales tax qualify and if so, how do you take advantage of the credit? Is it possible to transfer the credit to someone else? Thanks for the great site.

By: Bruce

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:41:33 +0000

I just listened to a great report on NPR (Marketplace) that described a program in Gainesville, Fl which provides incentives for going solar. Add this to the reasons that just make sense to see if this would push us all even more to start the conversation. Thought this might be of interest to the readers of this blog.http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/08/13/pm-solar-energy/

Maybe other municipalities will begin to follow this example.

By: Rick

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:12:26 +0000

Two questions:
1) Would line 31 “Average monthly power bill savings” equal $90 in year 1?
2) Is the current state budget crisis likely to effect the 35% state credit?