Recently, my husband and I decided to install a solar thermal hot water system at our house in Providence. Despite the loss of a
state tax credit, we went ahead with a grant from the Rhode Island Economic
Development Corporation’s Renewable Energy Fund for a similar 25% off the cost
of the system. We will also receive a federal tax rebate of 30% off the rest.
In order to qualify for the grant program, we needed to have done an energy
audit through National Grid. We had done the audit last year, and had already
installed additional attic insulation through that program. For anyone who has
not gone through an energy audit, it is well worth the effort. We were able to
cover the cost of insulating our attic and sealing our entry doors.
This year’s Renewable Energy Fund grant program was for
small scale solar projects, and was given to solar installers and community
development groups that bundled individual projects. Eight separate groups were
awarded funding for 89 residential projects. Our project was done by Island Solar and was bundled with 16 others. Residential solar is gaining in
popularity across the country, and incentives are helping increase that growth.
With solar panel prices falling and financing available through leases and
other agreements, the economics are favoring these small scale projects. Solar
in general is proving to be easier to permit and install than wind, and in
Massachusetts, for example, solar projects outnumber wind projects by 3 to 1. In
total, over 4,000 residential solar projects have been installed in
Massachusetts, and installed solar capacity is already over 200 megawatts.
While Massachusetts has strong incentives through tax
rebates and rate based programs, Rhode Island ranks last in the Northeast in renewable energy projects.
Efforts to pass bills in the legislature this past session to reinstate
the RI renewable energy tax credit were unsuccessful. Representative Deb
Ruggerio said that the state spent about $155,000 a year while we had a tax
credit which generated over $1 million a year in economic activity for solar
installers.
