How to Fund Alternative Energy Systems for Your Home or Business
Let’s turn to financing in this edition of Green Products. Why financing? To go green, someone has to pay the initial costs, and sometimes these costs are high. With some of the current economic challenges, here are some thoughts
One of the major downturns in the economy has been reduced consumer and small business spending on green products, causing loss of jobs and closure of businesses in the sector. The smart businesses are investing in new product development and reducing the cost of current products. This means a cost savings to you when buying alternative energy products.
Another opportunity is the new American Recovery and Re-investment Act of 2009. Renewable energy and the development of alternative energy products were given a big boost by removing “cost caps” from the 2008 alternative energy tax credit and green products.
With this new law in effect you can realize a 30% tax credit when you install an alternative energy source in your home or business. If you own a small business, you also have an option to get cash in the form of cash grants instead of the tax credit.
One of the great things about all this is the money that you will save for years after your initial investment is recapture using green products. For example, solar energy is passive and requires little maintenance unless you use a battery store (then all you have to do is schedule the replacement of batteries every five years).
Finally, many states have a variety of incentives in place, including tax credits, rebates, and even buy-back or cash reimbursements when you have negative energy usage (that is, you produced more energy than you consumed, and have added power to the state’s power grid).
With this in mind everybody wins; you win by saving money and reducing our dependence on foreign oil; the businesses win by producing and selling green products and the economy wins by helping to keep people employed.
Michael
