Solar PV At Record Low
There has never been a better time for installing a solar photovoltaic array on your house. Prices on solar panels have dropped steeply over the past few years, with more and more panels being produced. Incentives are great too. There is a federal income tax credit on 30% the installed cost of renewable energy (with no upper limit). Iowa has recently passed a state income tax credit for 15% of the cost of solar systems (with a max residential credit of $3,000). For a limited time, Alliant Energy customers can take advantage of Alliant’s renewable energy rebates that can lower the upfront cost of system even further.
Solar panels used to be the domain of early adopters or off-grid homesteaders. As few as five years ago, the payback time for PV panels was in the range of 20-30 years. Now, many on-grid systems are seeing paybacks well under 10 years, after incentives. This makes solar very approachable and a great investment for all households.
Winneshiek County has even seen a small solar boom as companies add solar electric system installation to their services. Dennis Pottratz of Go Solar and Blake Electric have long been solar installers in our area and they are now joined by Decorah Electric, Perry Novak Electric and Tom Massman Construction (see our resource page contractor directory for contact information).
The Energy District is a great resource, if you’d like help in determining the suitability of solar panels on your home, give Joel Zook a call. Joel is a MREA certified Solar Site Assessor and can help you determine the potential of solar on your property as well as give you an in-depth consultation on production, payback time and incentives.
For more on the Energy Districts Solar Assessments, visit our webpage.