Aug 31, 2008 6:00 pm US/Eastern
Subsidies Help Residents Go Solar
WOODBINE, Md. (AP) ―
Tim Dowd has done everything he can think of to keeping the monthly electricity bill low on the house he is building in Howard County.
He's installed thicker walls with more insulation and bought higher-grade windows.
Early on, he researched wind and solar power and geothermal heating. The solar system he chose cost $35,000.
"There's no doubt about it: It takes a lot of green to be green," said Dowd, 31, of Woodbine, a D.C. firefighter.
Fortunately for him, subsidies are making solar energy more affordable. Here's what Dowd will get: a $5,000 tax credit from Howard; $2,000 off his federal taxes; and a $10,000 grant from Maryland.
That will bring the cost of the system down to $18,000.
Dowd is among the growing number of Maryland homeowners taking advantage of government incentives to install solar power.
Participation is far from widespread, but with increasing utility prices and more awareness about climate change, solar technology is becoming more palatable.
Environmentalists and solar business owners are worried the state will run out of grant money this year and that they are concerned about a federal tax credit of up to $2,000 that expires at the end of the year.
At the start of July, Montgomery County offered tax breaks for environmentally friendly design initiatives, including solar power.
Three weeks after that, the Prince George's County Council approved a measure that allows homeowners to get a credit of up to $5,000 on their property taxes for installing certain solar or geothermal energy devices.
They followed Howard, Anne Arundel and Harford counties, which had started offering similar incentives in recent years.
County incentives to use solar technology, which is relatively expensive compared with traditional methods, at first got a lukewarm response in Maryland, officials said. But in the past year, more homeowners are showing interest.
A grant program administered by the Maryland Energy Administration gave out its allotted $590,000 for the year on the first day applications were reviewed, said Brandon Farris, the agency's policy director. About 95 people received grants, he said; about 60 more were put on a waiting list.
About 330 projects have benefited from the grants since the program's inception in 2005, Farris said. Those who qualify in the first-come, first-served process can get as much as $10,000.
But some who counted on the state money couldn't get it.
Del. Jon S. Cardin, a Baltimore County Democrat, has pushed hard for solar energy rebates and tax credits in the General Assembly.
But he said the budget for grants was slashed during the last session as the legislators faced a deep deficit.
Cardin said he applied for a state grant this year for solar panels at his house but doesn't think he'll get one. His name is not on the waiting list.
In Maryland, effective this year, there is no state sales tax on solar equipment, and property with such equipment cannot be assessed at a higher value.
Prince George's County Council member Eric Olson said he supported the local measure because he's worried about the possibility of rolling blackouts if people stay dependent on conventional power.
"The more renewable energy that we're using, the better off we're all going to be," he said. It can take time to get the word out about solar incentives. One person applied for Anne Arundel's County's tax credit last year. But eight have applied this year for what William Brown, the county's controller, says is a "good deal."
Linda Watts is chief of Howard's bureau of revenue. She said 10 credits were given out in the first year of the county's program.
In the second year, the most recent fiscal year, 44 people got credits worth a combined $161,000. Seven have received approval to take the exemption for next year.
Since Montgomery's program went into effect in July, about a dozen residents have applied for the tax break.
Jeff Dorety, director of sales for Chesapeake Solar in Jessup, said homeowners in Maryland have more to gain than those in Washington and Virginia. But he said the weak economy could reduce revenue and cause governments to slash subsidies.
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