Financial Incentives
There are four basic sources for financing commercial solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Oregon:
- Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) – Commonly referred to as "Betsy", this is an Oregon tax credit of up to 50% of the eligible system cost.
- Federal Business Energy Tax Credit – A straight 30% tax credit to be taken in the tax year of the system start-up.
- Modified Accelerated Cost-Recovery System (MACRS) – Enables businesses to recover investments in solar, wind and geothermal property through depreciation deductions of 85% of the total system cost over five years.
- Financial Incentive from electric utilities – Rebates of $0.50 to $1.50 per watt of rated DC capacity are available from utilities and/or the Energy Trust of Oregon. These rebates are taxable and vary depending on utility provider and PV system kilowatts.
While there are several available financial incentives, only your qualified financial advisor can determine which, if any, are applicable to your business.
For More Information
The following web sites offer further information on financial incentives for PV systems:
- Oregon Department of Energy
http://egov.oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/BUS/BETC.shtml - Energy Trust of Oregon
http://www.energytrust.org/RR/PV/provide.html - Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE)
http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/genericfederal.cfm?State=Federal&CurrentPageId=1 - Tax Incentives Assistance Project
http://www.energytaxincentives.org - Green Tags – Bonneville Environmental Foundation
http://www.b-e-f.org/GreenTags/index.cfm
See Also: View successful applications of solar energy for Oregon businesses like yours in our portfolio of featured projects.