New Jersey is probably not the first state you think of when you think about sunshine. Nonetheless, it is a top state in terms of solar power. In fact, it’s 5th in the US in terms of installed solar power. More than 400,000 Jersey homes are powered by solar and the energy source accounts for 4% of New Jersey’s electricity production. There are also approximately 600 solar companies, 7,000 solar jobs, and 100,000 solar installations in the state.

The question is: why is New Jersey such a solar leader? The answer, in the simplest terms, is that New Jersey has great solar incentives.

There are a few solar incentives, in particular, that help stimulate so much solar activity. First of all, New Jersey has a “net metering” policy. Basically, this means that if you have solar panels on your roof and they create extra electricity (beyond what you’re using in your home), you can get paid for it by your utility at the same rate as you buy electricity.

In addition to net metering, Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) have been a major stimulus for solar power installations in the state. SRECs are basically money that you get for producing electricity from solar panels. For every 1,000 kWh of electricity a system produces, the owner gets one SREC. Pricing of an SREC varies because they are sold on an SREC marketplace, but expectations for 2019 are around $225 when all is said and done, which comes to $1575 if you generate 7 kWh in the year.

One notable factor about the SREC program, though, is that Governor Murphy signed Assembly Bill 3723 into law last year. The law sets a 50% renewable energy standard for 2030, but it phases out the SREC program once solar reaches 5.1% of the state’s electricity generation. (Remember, it’s at 4% right now.) So, if you want to be in the program and earn thousands of dollars from selling solar, you should jump into the game now. Solar is expected to reach 5.1% of generation sometime in 2019 or 2020.

There’s also a sales tax exemption for solar panels, so you pay no sales tax on your purchase. And there’s a property tax exemption, so you pay no additional taxes on your home for the added value of the solar system.

As in any other state in the country, there’s also a federal tax credit for solar panels. The Investment Tax Credit (ITC) can cut the cost of your solar system by up to 30%. Note that the benefit comes when you file your taxes, not at the point of purchase. Also, you need to have tax liability to benefit from the credit. Also, note that the tax credit is only for people who buy their solar systems, not for customers who lease their solar panels or sign up for a power purchase agreement (PPA) from a 3rd party solar company that is the actual owner of the system. (Most people who go solar today pay in cash or get a loan from a bank to actually buy their solar system.)

Get a solar quote to go solar today.

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