About Solar Energy
Follow the links below to learn more about solar energy. Note that we provide these links to outside Web sites as a reference for our customers, but we neither control the content on these Web sites nor endorse any information or conclusions presented by the Web site authors. Our screening indicates these sites have high-quality information we believe would be of interest to our customers.If you have suggestions for additional sites to add to this list, or reasons you think some sites should not be included on this list, we’d like to hear from you.
Links to Solar Financial and Performance Calculators
- PVWatts– An easy to use online tool developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratories, used to estimate the annual energy production and financial returns from solar PV systems.
Links to Information about Available Tax Credits and Subsidies
- Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy - An online summary of federal, state, city, and utility incentives available all over the U.S. Of particular interest, see:
- Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit (Federal) - An individual taxpayer may claim a credit of 30% of qualified expenditures for a system that serves a dwelling unit located in the U.S. used as a residence by the taxpayer. The credit is calculated based on the individual’s expenditures excluding subsidized energy financing, which is defined as "financing provided under a Federal, State, or local program a principal purpose of which is to provide subsidized financing for projects designed to conserve or produce energy." No maximum credit limit for systems placed in service from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2016.
- Renewable Energy Systems Property Tax Exemption (Texas) - The Texas property tax code allows an exemption of the amount of the appraised property value that arises from the installation or construction of a solar or wind-powered energy device that is primarily for the production and distribution of thermal, mechanical, or electrical energy for on-site use, or devices used to store that energy.
- Business Energy Tax Credit (Federal) - This credit for businesses is equal to 30% of expenditures, with no maximum credit limit stated. Eligible solar energy property includes equipment that uses solar energy to generate electricity, to heat or cool (or provide hot water for use in) a structure, or to provide solar process heat.
- Modified Accelerated Cost-Recovery System (MACRS) + 2008 Bonus Depreciation (Federal) - Under the federal Modified Accelerated Cost-Recovery System (MACRS), businesses may recover investments in certain property through depreciation deductions. The MACRS establishes a set of class lives for various types of property, ranging from three to 50 years, over which the property may be depreciated. For solar property placed in service after 1986, the current MACRS property class is five years.
Links to Technical Information about Solar Energy
- Solar Energy Technologies Program - U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) web site.
- Tracking the Sun: The Installed Costs of Photovoltaics in the U.S. from 1998-2011 - A National Laboratories report on solar electric costs..
- The Energy Report – A report prepared for the Texas Legislature by the Comptroller of Public Accounts in 2008. This links to the solar chapter of that report.
- Texas Renewable Energy Resource Assessment – A report prepared for the Texas Legislature by the Texas State Energy Conservation Office in early 2009. This links to the solar chapter of that report. (new site)
