Green Tax Benefits & Incentives Part #2

Below is an overview of some the programs available and web sites to do additional research.

Federal Tax Credit: 30% of cost up to $1,500
Expires: December 31, 2010
Details: Must be an existing home and your principal residence. New construction and rentals do not qualify.
Covers: Biomass Stoves, HVAC (Advanced Main Air Circulating Fan), Insulation, Roofs, non-solar water heaters, windows and doors.

Federal Tax Credit: 30% of cost up with no upper limit
Expires: December 31, 2016
Details: Must be an existing or new home and your principal residence. Rentals do not qualify.
Covers: Geothermal Heat Pumps, Small Residential Wind, Solar Water and Photovoltaic Systems

MN State Sales Tax Incentive: 30% of cost up with no upper limit
Expires: No Expiration
Details: 100% sales tax exemption
Covers: Solar Water Heat, Solar Space Heat, Solar Photovoltaic, Small Wind

MN State Rebate Program:
Expires: When funds are exhausted
Details: $1.75 watt DC (up to $8,750) or $2.00 watt DC ($10,000) if installed by a NABCEP certified installer
Covers: Solar Photovoltaic up to 5KW

MN State Rebate Program:
Expires: When funds are exhausted
Details: $30.00 per square foot net aperture to a maximum of the lesser of 25% or $2,500 for new systems
Covers: Solar Water Heat

Xcel Energy Utility Rebate Program
Expires: Not Listed
Covers:
Central A/C: $180-$330, depending on efficiency
Air-source Heat Pumps: $180-$330, depending on efficiency
Geothermal Heat Pumps: $150/ton
Furnaces: $75-$100, depending on efficiency
Boilers: $100
Water Heaters: $40-$60 (standard); $100 (tankless)http://www.xcelenergy.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/docs/Home-Performance-Rebate-SignUp.pdf
Note: Utility rebates vary by utility provider

MN Net Metering
Expires: N/A
Details: Net metering allows a small electricity generator (e.g. residential home) to interconnect to the transmission grid and sell unused electricity back to the utility at the end of the month. Wind energy systems less the 40kw in size are eligible for net metering (Rule 7835 and Statute 216B.164)
Covers: Photovoltaics, Landfill Gas, Wind, Biomass, Hydroelectric, Municipal Solid Waste, CHP/Cogeneration, Anaerobic Digestion, Small Hydroelectric, Other Distributed Generation Technologies

Web Sites to check for more information:
http://www.dsireusa.org/
http://energytaxincentives.org/
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index