Solar Space Heat

Special Assessment for Solar Energy Systems

Illinois offers a special assessment of solar energy systems for property tax purposes. When a claim for alternate valuation is filed, the chief county assessment officer is required to ascertain two values: the value of the improvements as if equipped with a conventional heating or cooling system and the value of the improvements as equipped with the solar energy system. The alternate valuation is the lesser of these two values.

Eligible equipment includes both active and passive solar energy systems. The exemption is not valid for equipment that is equally usable in a conventional energy system or for components that

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Residential Alternative Energy Tax Deduction

This statute allows taxpayers an income tax deduction of 40% of the cost of a solar, wind, geothermal, and certain biomass energy devices used for heating or electricity generation. Taxpayers can apply this 40% deduction in the year in which the system is installed and can also deduct 20% of the cost each year for three years thereafter. The maximum deduction in any one year is $5,000. The total maximum deduction is $20,000.

Eligible biomass energy devices include a pellet stove or EPA-certified wood stove if:

  • it is in the taxpayer's residence,
  • it replaces an old wood stove that does
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Solar and Wind Equipment Sales Tax Exemption

Arizona provides a sales tax exemption* for the retail sale of solar energy devices and for the installation of solar energy devices by contractors. The statutory definition of "solar energy device" includes wind electric generators and wind-powered water pumps in addition to daylighting, passive solar heating, active solar space heating, solar water heating, and solar photovoltaics. The sales tax exemption does not apply to batteries, controls, etc., that are not part of the system. (Note that H.B. 2429, enacted in June 2006, eliminated the $5,000 limit per device.)

S.B. 1229 of 2012 extended this exemption to net metering transactions

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Residential Solar and Wind Energy Systems Tax Credit

Arizona's Solar Energy Credit is available to individual taxpayers who install a solar or wind energy device at the taxpayer's Arizona residence. The credit is allowed against the taxpayer's personal income tax in the amount of 25% of the cost of a solar or wind energy device, with a $1,000 maximum allowable limit, regardless of the number of energy devices installed. The credit is claimed in the year of installation. If the amount of the credit exceeds a taxpayer’s liability in a certain year, the unused portion of the credit may be carried forward for up to five years. Taxpayers

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Power Project Loan Fund

Created by the Alaska State Legislature and administered by the Alaska Energy Authority, this fund provides loans to electric utilities, regional electric utilities, municipalities, regional and village corporations, village councils, and independent power producers. It is designed for the development or upgrade of small-scale power production facilities of less than 10 megawatts, conservation facilities, and bulk fuel storage facilities. This includes energy production, transmission and distribution, and waste energy conservation facilities that depend on fossil fuel, wind power, tidal, geothermal, biomass, hydroelectric, solar or other energy sources.

The loan term is related to the life of the project, but may
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City of Columbia - Renewable Portfolio Standard

Note: According to the 2025 Renewable Energy Plan, in 2024, City of Columbus Utilities purchased or generated 22.82% of its total electric usage through renewable energy sources. 

In November 2004, voters in Columbia, Missouri, approved* a proposal to adopt a local renewable portfolio standard (RPS). (The state renewable electricity standard adopted by ballot initiative in November 2008 does not apply to municipal utilities such as Columbia Water & Light.) The city's municipal utility Columbia Water & Light is required to generate or purchase 30% of its electricity from eligible renewable energy resources by the end of 2028. Nearly 7%

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Sustainable Energy Trust Fund


The District of Columbia's Retail Electric Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 1999 required the DC Public Service Commission (PSC) to establish a public benefits fund to provide energy assistance to low-income residents, and to support energy-efficiency programs and renewable-energy programs. This fund, known as the Reliable Energy Trust Fund (RETF), took effect in 2001. In October 2008, the District of Columbia enacted the Clean and Affordable Energy Act (CAEA), which effectively eliminated the RETF and replaced it with the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund (SETF). This program is administered by the third-party DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU) which develops, coordinates

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Residential Solar Energy Property Tax Reduction

NOTE: H.B. 8354 enacted on July 2016 included provision that exempted qualifying renewable energy equipment used in residential and manufacturing sector to be exempt from property taxes throughout the state, thereby superseding the reduction in solar energy property tax assessment provision. Renewable energy equipment used in commercial facilities are not included in the exemption.

Rhode Island law provides that for purposes of local municipal property tax assessment, certain residential solar-energy systems may not be assessed at more than the value of a conventional heating system, a conventional water-heating system, or energy production capacity that otherwise could be necessary to install

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Local Option - Residential Property Tax Exemption for Solar

The State of Virginia provides the option for any county, city, or town to exempt or partially exempt solar energy equipment and recycling equipment from local property taxes.  This status is targeted toward non-commercial participants; commercial entities are fully exempt from state and local taxes under Commercial Property Tax Exemption for Solar.

The solar equipment and installation has to be inspected and certified by the local building department or the Department of Environmental Quality to provide the value of the system for the purpose of determining tax credit. The statute broadly defines solar energy equipment as any that is

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Renewable Energy Systems Tax Credit (Personal)

Note: Residential PV systems installed on or after January 1, 2024 are ineligible for this tax credit. H.B. 264 of 2025 repeals this tax credit for all other technologies and applications place in service after December 31, 2027.  

Utah's income tax credit for renewable energy systems includes provisions for both residential and commercial applications. The Utah Office of Energy Development administers the tax credit and has responsibility for revising the tax credit rules and certifying systems as eligible for the credit. Legislation (Section 5) enacted in 2007 extended these tax credits through at least 2012. On or before this

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