Good investment

R.I. Solar Tax Credit Bill Reintroduced

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org News staff

PROVIDENCE — Incentives for installing solar panels on homes may get another boost. On Tuesday, Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, D-Jamestown, introduced a bill (pdf) to reinstate the 25 percent tax credit for solar and geothermal energy projects. 

Former Gov. Donald Carcieri eliminated the tax credit, along with other tax deductions, in June 2010.

During the four years the tax credit was available, the cost to taxpayers was minute, Ruggiero said, at about $150,000 annually. The economic benefit was about $1.5 million from an average of 57 renewable installations a year, she added.

The House Finance Committee must approve the bill in order for the tax credit to return. The Senate must also pass the bill. The House and Senate versions of the bill stalled in committee in 2012. Ruggiero also introduced the legislation in 2011.

Solar energy, she said, is less expensive and the renewable sector “is one of the bright spots in the Rhode Island economy. It will also create jobs in the building trades and small-business renewable companies.”

If approved, the tax credit would be one of several recent incentives for renewable energy in Rhode Island.

Earlier this month, the state Renewable Energy Fund (REF) launched a grant and loan program for funding smaller residential and business solar-energy projects. Residential projects of 10 kilowatts or less can qualify for grants up to $10,000 for hot water and photovoltaic (PV) systems. The size is capped at 160 square feet. 

Low-interest loans covering 50 percent of the cost to $20,000 also be available through the REF. In addition, homeowners can take advantage of the 30 percent federal residential renewable energy tax credit.

Larger solar energy, hydro energy, geothermal, biodiesel, landfill gas, fuel cells and combined-heat-and-power recovery units can also qualify for up to $75,000 for renewable projects generating between 10 and 50 kilowatts.

Small-scale installers have been calling for the incentives, which have succeeded at boosting the residentail solar market in other states. Last November, the Solar Foundation reported a 13.2 percent growth increase in the solar-energy sector, far outpacing the overall economy. 

“This tax credit is long overdue,” said Vito Buonomano owner of Northeast Solar & Wind Power LLC. ”We need to build the Rhode Island renewable energy industry from the bottom up, not from the top down.”