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Everything You Need to Know About New Jersey Solar Incentives

If you havenโ€™t noticed yet, the world is going green. With the growing threat of global warming, most countries are in a scramble to develop greener and more efficient means to generate and store energy. This has seen a fair bit of decrease in the use of fossil fuels, like coal and oil.

One of the cleanest forms of energy is solar energy, a name derived from the sun, Sol. Solar energy comes from the sunโ€™s radiant energy. It requires the use of solar panels to catch the sunโ€™s radiant energy which is then stored and used to generate electricity, heat and light. China has invested heavily in this technology. In the US many states are working to improve their investment and use of solar power.

New Jersey And Solar Energy

Affectionately nicknamed the green state, New Jersey is one of the leading states in the use of solar power. There are a few states that have more than a gigawatt of solar capacity installed, and New Jersey is one of them. This is why New Jersey is one of the countryโ€™s leaders in the use of solar power. Their current solar energy capacity affords them enough solar energy to supply over a quarter of a million homes. They have been this successful in part, due to their New Jersey Solar Incentives.

Why Should You Go Solar?

The two most prominent reasons to go solar are cost and helping the environment. You could add that solar panels look like โ€œblingโ€ for your house but that is not a commonly explored reason.

Owning a home comes with expenses. You must pay the mortgage, utilities, deal with any repairs that may be needed, and thatโ€™s not even taking into account taking care of your family. So, when you can ease at least one of those costs, it is a blessing. Solar energy helps to lower your utility fees. Now donโ€™t get it twisted, solar power installations can be expensive to put in, but in the long run that cost is recouped and even reversed in some cases.

The second reason for using solar power is that it is clean energy. Using fossil fuels can cause damage to the environment. This damage can have very bad effects not only on the environment but can negatively affect human life, hotter summers, colder winters, and more severe natural phenomenon. So, anything that can be done to reduce damage to the environment is a win for everyone.

Harvesting energy from the sun is clean and reduces our carbon footprint. Letโ€™s dispel the image of someone standing on the sun with a scythe harvesting sun energy. Solar energy uses solar panels, which catches the sunโ€™s rays, stores the energy and then distributes it through the house. So basically, your house becomes this giant flower that photosynthesizing solar energy.

If you are interested in making your house a giant flower, giving it a little bling or more importantly saving money with solar energy, you should consult with a green building professional. They will be able to properly advise you on how you can install this technology. An added benefit for those in the New Jersey area are the New Jersey Solar Incentives which basically means that you will get money for using solar power.

What Are New Jersey Solar Incentives?

Think of it this way. You drastically reduce your electricity utility bill, and whatever energy you have not used you can sell back to the grid. This is a simplified explanation of how the residential solar program works. New Jersey solar incentives form part of the statesโ€™ solar strategy. These are all designed to make people build homes that fall within the statesโ€™ energy standards. The incentives fall into the falling categories:

Rebates:

As said earlier, installing solar panels can be very expensive at first, but you more than make up the cost over time. To help with this cost, there are rebates available. Under the NJ Clean Residential New Construction Program if you are building a new home you may be able to get a rebate for building a new home powered with renewable energy like solar energy.

Performance Payments:

These basically mean that when you provide proof you have generated 1000 kilowatts per hour of solar energy, you get Solar Renewable Energy Certificates which you can then sell for money. This way you are not only helping the grid, but you also get money out of it. This is one of the easiest of the New Jersey Solar Incentives to get because an ordinary house running the commonly used 5-kW solar systems can generate about 6 SRECs a year.

Property Tax Exemptions:

Remember when we said bling for your house? Well when you have a solar panel installed, property tax assessors have to take the solar panel and system into account when they come to assess your property. And when you decide to sell your home, the โ€œblingโ€ makes the house that much more valuable, because of free electricity.

Sales Tax Exemptions:

If you have done any sort of renovation on your home, you know that they get you with the sales tax, about 7% to be exact. Guess what? When buying solar panels, you pay 0% of that sales tax. Yes, you are sales tax exempt for buying.

With these incentives in play, it is no wonder New Jersey is one of the forerunners in solar energy. Incentivizing people to do a specific behavior is a tried and tested method to successfully change behavior. In the context of home-owners being able to save money, is a major concern.

And while solar panels can be expensive at first, the New Jersey Solar Incentives are in play so as to ease the blow to your pocket. They are also there to make you part of saving the environment and helping your grid and state in the generation of power and not just its use.

Fawad Malik

Fawad Malik Technology geek by heart, blogger by passion, and founder of nogentech.org, He regularly explores ideas and ways how advanced technology helps individuals, brands and businesses survive and thrive in this competitive landscape. He tends to share the latest tech news, trends, and updates with the community built around Nogentech.

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