Louisiana Has Top Tax Credit For Solar Panels
If you want to install solar panels on your house the state of Louisiana will pay for half. That’s about the best deal in the nation.
News Channel 5’s Joel Massey met a Tioga man who’s taking the state up on its offer.
Paul Garraty has been wanting solar panels to power his home for a while now and thanks to a generous tax credit from the state of Louisiana he’s getting his wish.
Garraty said, “My wife and I have been thinking about solar for a long time but until they started offering tax credits January 1st, we were financially prohibited from doing it.”
Louisiana will pay for half of a solar panel system up to $12,500 in the form of a tax credit. The federal government also offers a 30 percent tax credit. So the system that costs $25,000 will cost Garraty only $6,700. He says the panels will generate about 500 kilowatts a month which is about a third of the electricity he uses. At that rate the system will pay for itself in five years.
“I’d love to see more people in Louisiana get it just seems like it’s such a natural fit for Louisiana with the huge tax credit that’s offered we have abundant sunshine and it’s conservation of energy.”
Garraty says the solar panels will increase the value of his home.
“The solar panels which will cost $6,700 will increase the value of our house by $20,000 yet its considered personal property so it doesn’t increase the value of the tax on our house. So it’s a win-win situation in that respect.”
Garraty is happy about the future savings the panels will provide.
“The solar panels are guaranteed for 30 years and we expect to in the summer months to start reaping the profits immediately.”
The company that installed the solar panels said they have been very busy. They said they’ve worked on about 80 homes this year.
Source: KALB.com
