June 4, 2008

Good question. Yes, there are currently federal incentives for installing renewable energy. Specifically, there’s a tax credit for installing residential solar energy systems, including solar-electric and solar water heating systems. These incentives don’t expire until the end of 2008. However, I think many people are not aware that the tax credits for solar are still available because a number of other federal energy incentives expired at the end of 2007. (Read more details about the incentives that have expired, and what’s still available here.)

Another good resource to check out is DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency.) Despite the name, it has information not only on state and local incentives, but about federal incentives, too.