Funding is available for both solar electric and solar hot water on both houses and businesses:
A Federal income tax credit is available-- 30% of the cost for solar electric and solar thermal systems- both residential and commercial.
A State tax credit of 15% up to $1000 is available for systems on a primary residence.
A 5 - year accelerated depreciation is available for solar systems installed on businesses.
There is no sales tax on solar equipment.
Subsidies are available for solar electric systems from funds collected under the Renewable Energy line item of your electric bill and administered by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. The subsidy chart below is at $1.00/watt which is the base residential subsidy. Funding applications are reviewed on a first come-first serve basis.
Additional subsidy is available as a Moderate Income Adder. If your gross income on your Schedule 1040 is less than $95,420 as a 2 person plus household or less than $75,810 as a single person household, you qualify for an additional $1.25/watt.
And, municipal and commercial properties receive greater subsidies than the residential numbers shown below. For more information on the subsidies available, go to the Commonwealth Solar site.
Fill out the site survey on the upper righthand corner of this page to work with Under the Sun or, contact South Mountain Company to find out their equipment and installation cost.
Under the Sun's Cost of Grid-Tied Solar Electric Systems with Subsidy
A Standard, residential, roof-mounted installation "soup to nuts" without complications:
for more information on Under the Sun, go to energywisemv.com
| System Size | Installed Cost* | Cost after Subsidy | Estimated Production** |
| 1.68 Kilowatt (8 Panels) | $16,300 | $14,620 | 2,100 kwh/year |
| 2.52 Kilowatt (12 Panels) | $23,400 | $20,800 | 3,150 kwh/year |
| 3.36 Kilowatt (16 Panels) | $28,500 | $25,140 | 4,200 kwh/year |
| 5.04 Kilowatt (24 Panels) | $41,600 | $36,560 | 6,300 kwh/year |
* Extra costs for custom site conditions: ground-mounted systems, cedar shingle roof installations, or sites that require extra travel time. Because of panel shortages, prices, and brand of panels and inverters may vary. In addition, because of varying freight and copper wire costs, costs may be higher than estimated here. Panel size is 3’-0” wide x 4’-4” long.
** Production based on unshaded panels facing true south, mounted at 40 degrees.
Check your electric bill to see how these numbers compare to your usage. The right hand side of the bill shows you this month. The left hand shows you the last year. The average Vineyard family of 4 uses 6,000- 7200 kwh/year. With energy efficiency measures that could be reduced by at least 25%. Call 800-797-6699 to sign up for a free energy audit.
Renewable Energy Credits for Solar Electric Systems
In addition to spinning your meter backwards, you have the opportunity to sell the green attributes from your PV system to be part of Cape Light Green. Mass Energy is currently offering to purchase these attributes at a rate of $0.03 per kilowatt-hour for three years. This offer to purchase energy attributes is in addition to the savings you receive from your energy production through net metering and other incentives.
Your renewable energy attributes will be packaged together with those from other renewable sources and sold to customers who are willing to pay a premium price to support clean power.
