Tax Incentives

There are several cash and tax incentives for installing solar for your home or business.  Below is an outline of the available incentives:

RESIDENTIAL CASH/TAX INCENTIVES for PV ELECTRIC SYSTEMS

Energy Trust of Oregon Cash Incentives:
If you're an Oregon customer of Pacific Power or Portland General Electric, your solar project may be eligible for cash incentives from Energy Trust if you work with a contractor from our Trade Ally Network.

Energy Trust offers the following incentives for residential solar electric systems:

State and Federal Income Tax Credits:

Your project may be eligible for funding through an Oregon Residential Energy Tax Credit and federal tax credits. Tax credits, sometimes called tax incentives, reduce the amount of tax you owe dollar for dollar.

– OR Residential Energy Tax Credit through Oregon Department of Energy of $3.00/watt, up to $6,000. For more information please visit the ODOE website by clicking here.

• System must be verified by a tax-credit certified technician
• Systems must be comprised of new UL listed equipment
• Tax credit is based on $3 per watt up to $6,000
• $1,500 maximum credit can be claimed per year
• Minimum system is 200 watts

– Federal Tax Credit of 30% of net installed cost (Net cost = total system cost – Energy Trust incentive) For more information please visit the Federal Governments website by clicking here.

RESIDENTIAL CASH/TAX INCENTIVES for SOLAR HOT WATER & POOL SYSTEMS

Energy Trust of Oregon Cash Incentives:
If you're an Oregon customer of Pacific Power, Portland General Electric, NW Natural or Cascade Natural Gas our qualified contractors can help you install a solar water heating system on your home or business. We offer the following incentives:

	PGE/Pacific Power using electric water heating	NW Natural/Cascade using gas water heating	Maximum incentive limit
Residential hot water	$0.40 per first-year kWh savings (average incentive is $800)	$0.30 per first-year kWh savings (average incentive is $600)	Up to $1,500
Residential Pools	$0.10 per first-year kWh savings	$0.07 per first-year kWh savings	Up to $1,000
Commercial hot water	$0.40 per first-year kWh savings	$6.00 per first-year therm savings	Maximum 35% of project cost (typically 10-15%)
Commercial Pools	$0.10 per first-year kWh savings	$1.50 per first-year therm savings	Maximum 35% of project cost (typically 10-15%)

State and Federal Income Tax Credits:

Your project may be eligible for funding through an Oregon Residential Energy Tax Credit and federal tax credits. Tax credits, sometimes called tax incentives, reduce the amount of tax you owe dollar for dollar.

– OR Residential Energy Tax Credit through the Oregon Department of Energy of $0.60 per rated kWh savings for the first year, up to $1,500. Solar pool heating tax credit is $0.15 per rated kWh savings for the first year, up to $1,500. For more information please visit the ODOE website by clicking here.

• System must be verified by a tax-credit certified technician.
• Tax credit is based on estimated energy savings for a typical four-person household.
• Tax credit amount is $0.60 per kWh saved up to $1,500.
• Credit is limited to 50 percent of the total system cost.
• Equipment must be new and either OG-300 certified or be listed as a "Research and Development" system by the Oregon Department of Energy.

– Federal Tax Credit of 30% of net installed cost (Net cost = total system cost – Energy Trust incentive) Note: solar pool heating systems are not eligible for the federal investment tax credit. For more information please visit the Federal Governments website by clicking here.

COMMERCIAL CASH/TAX INCENTIVES for PV ELECTRIC SYSTEMS

Energy Trust of Oregon Cash Incentives:

Energy Trust offers cash incentives that can be combined with state and federal tax credits, making solar energy more affordable than you think. Your up-front investment may be paid back in less than five years. After that, your system will deliver pollution-free electricity for years to come.

Effective January 1, 2009
Put the power of the sun to work at your business and gain the benefits of making your own clean, renewable energy. If you're an Oregon customer of Portland General Electric (PGE) or Pacific Power, a contractor from our trade ally network can help you install a solar electric system at your business.

Standard Incentive
Standard solar incentives are available for one or more solar electric systems with a total combined capacity of 200 kW or the maximum incentive per participant or host based on your utility. Use the incentive estimator below to calculate the standard incentive for your installation.

Multi-Site Incentive
Multi-site incentives are available for solar electric systems located on several sites, with a combined total capacity up to 800 kW or the maximum incentive per participant or host. The multi-site incentive is available to PGE customers only and is a fixed rate.

Incentive offer is subject to available limited funding, and is subject to change.

For all systems receiving Energy Trust incentives, the system owner will own the green tags during the first five years of operation; Energy Trust will own green tags during years six through 20.

See Additional rules and limitations for commercial solar incentives below.

State and Federal Income Tax Credits:

Your project may be eligible for funding through an Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) and federal tax credits. Tax credits, sometimes called tax incentives, reduce the amount of tax you owe dollar for dollar.

– OR Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) For more information please visit the ODOE website by clicking here.

• 50% of eligible system cost
• Commercial income tax credit administered by Oregon Department of Energy
• Claimed over 5 years at 10% of eligible cost per year
• May transfer credit to a pass-through partner and receive a reduced payment up front
• Eligible project cost may be capped

– Commercial Federal Tax Credit of 30% of net installed cost. For more information please visit the Federal Governments website by clicking here.