Should You Go Solar if You Live on the East Coast: What You Want to Know

Rooftop photo voltaic in the US is rising quickly. The business grew 30% in 2021 when greater than 4.2 gigawatts of residential photo voltaic was put in (there are actually 121 gigawatts of solar energy nationwide) from the sunny southwest to areas much less well-known for his or her cloudless climates. Whereas inflation and an unsure economic system might sluggish issues down, the federal tax credit score stays at 26% for the remainder of the yr. Which means, it might be one other large yr for photo voltaic.

No two roofs are alike, due to angle or shading. States and municipalities supply completely different incentives. Web metering offers fluctuate from place to position.

Even so, there are sufficient regional similarities (like electrical energy prices, photo voltaic prices, local weather) to make an even bigger image view worthwhile. New England, regardless of having much less solar than different locations, has robust incentives all through the area and among the highest photo voltaic adoption in the US. The east coast of the US has robust sufficient photo voltaic potential to make photo voltaic panels value it. Relying on the state, there are incentives past the federal tax credit score.

The price of electrical energy

For this train, we’re calling the east facet of the US south of New England. That contains Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. This group consists of the Power Data Company’s Center Atlantic and South Atlantic areas, which is one cause not each state included sits properly throughout the East Coast.

Electrical energy charges in these states vary from $11.27 per kilowatt hour to $18.36 in New York, in response to the EIA. The price of electrical energy usually will increase from yr to yr. Final yr, costs elevated by 4.3%, the most important bounce since 2008.  The typical month-to-month electrical energy invoice ranges from $88.89 in Washington, D.C. to $138.16 in South Carolina. The opposite states within the area—Delaware ($117.06), Florida ($128.64), Georgia ($129.92), Maryland ($124.50), New Jersey ($109.54), New York ($110.47), North Carolina ($118.44), Pennsylvania ($144.90), Virginia ($131.72), and West Virginia ($124.09)—slot in between.

The price of photo voltaic panels

Evaluating prices for photo voltaic panel installations is a bit tough. The full value can fluctuate based mostly on native rebates accessible, the price of labor in an space, provide chain points and extra. The full worth to a house owner varies due the worth of electrical energy from their utility, the quantity of it they use, and the suitability of their roofs. The price of photo voltaic panel installations fluctuate broadly relying on the dimensions of and what number of photo voltaic panels go on a roof.

To get round a few of these variations, the photo voltaic business measures prices in worth per watt, or the system’s complete value divided by the overall capability of a photo voltaic system in watts. 

In keeping with the consulting agency Wooden Mackenzie, the nationwide common value of photo voltaic panel set up is $3.28 per watt. Relying in your supply, averages by state fluctuate. In keeping with EnergySage, photo voltaic costs on the East Coast vary from $2.44 per watt in Florida to $3.41 in Washington, D.C., which is a little bit of an outlier.

The typical costs per watt from roughly north to south: New York ($3.16), Pennsylvania ($3.01), New Jersey ($2.79), Delaware ($2.62), Maryland ($2.92), Washington, D.C. ($3.41), Virginia ($2.85), North Carolina ($2.75), South Carolina ($2.78), Georgia ($2.99), Florida ($2.44). West Virginia does not have a median listed. (Photo voltaic value info varies by supply. In EnergySage’s estimate, solely D.C. exceeds Wooden Mackenzie’s common.)

Photo voltaic’s worth is affected by federal, state and native incentives, together with tax credit and internet metering. No matter the place in the US you reside, when you set up photo voltaic in 2022, you may get 26% of the fee again as a credit score in your federal earnings taxes. In 2023, the credit score drops to 22% and in 2024 and past it goes away altogether. The credit score might be prolonged by the U.S. authorities.

State and native incentives exist within the type of tax exemptions, money incentives and internet metering. You could find a complete listing of the incentives accessible to you by visiting the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Effectivity and coming into your ZIP code. (Be sure you vet the listing that will get kicked again to you. Some might have lapsed or be applications which might be now not accepting new candidates.)

There are a variety of incentives provided on the state and municipal stage, however it’s once more variable: States like New York have a number of tax incentives and components of Pennsylvania have rebates for photo voltaic panels on high of tax incentives. On the opposite finish of the spectrum, West Virginia presents internet metering however no different incentives for residential photo voltaic prospects. Total, incentives alongside the East Coast should not fairly as robust as these present in New England, although most states supply native incentives and smaller jurisdictions (like counties and cities) supply rebates or tax credit extra often than in New England.

Each state has internet metering legal guidelines on the books. Florida’s internet metering guidelines have been the main focus of a current political struggle within the state that noticed Gov. Ron DeSantis veto a invoice that critics mentioned would intestine internet metering advantages.

Florida, New Jersey and New York have provisions waiving gross sales tax on photo voltaic purchases. Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. all have momentary property tax exemptions for the elevated worth of rooftop photo voltaic or enable municipalities to make these exemptions. Governments and utilities in New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (amongst others) supply rebates and tax credit on high of the federal tax credit score.

A photo voltaic buyer’s skill to promote photo voltaic renewable power certificates, or SRECs, also can have an effect on the long run monetary calculation for photo voltaic panels. SRECs characterize the environmental advantages of photo voltaic panels, which create one SREC for each megawatt of electrical energy they produce. Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia all have markets for SRECs. SRECs’ worth is set by provide and demand throughout the market. Their worth (on the time of this writing) varies from $5.75 in West Virginia (which participates in Ohio’s SREC market) to $370 in Washington, D.C. Delaware SREC transactions happen by means of long-term contracts. North Carolina permits SRECs from all 50 states, which implies the worth will stay low. New Jersey’s market is powerful, too.

The photo voltaic potential of the East Coast

Photo voltaic adoption up and down the East Coast additionally varies lots. West Virginia and Georgia sit within the backside 5 states for photo voltaic installations per capita, in response to information from the Photo voltaic Power Business Affiliation. On the similar time, Maryland and Washington, D.C. sit simply exterior the highest ten.

The choices residence house owners make that drive these completely different adoption charges are influenced by quite a lot of components, together with photo voltaic’s potential to suit the power wants of their day by day lives. One method to measure that’s taking a look at how a lot of a home’s power use could be offset by photo voltaic by photo voltaic. In keeping with the Nationwide Renewable Power Laboratory, rooftop photo voltaic on the east coast has among the lowest potential to offset the typical family electrical energy consumption.

On the high finish of the listing, the typical New York residence may offset 100% its power consumption with rooftop photo voltaic. New Jersey (90-100%), Florida (80-90%) and Pennsylvania (70-80%) come subsequent earlier than a bit of states the place the typical offset can be between 60 and 70%: Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The typical West Virginian home may offset lower than 60% of its power consumption with rooftop photo voltaic.

These are averages, so there are West Virginian homes which rooftop photo voltaic may offset 100% of its electrical energy consumption. And, 60% of a really excessive electrical energy invoice, may nonetheless be greater than sufficient to make photo voltaic definitely worth the funding.

This additionally does not imply that photo voltaic does not work on the east coast. A few of these southern states use extra air-con than in New England. Regardless that the photo voltaic potential of the East Coast lags behind that of New England by some measures, in loads of conditions it would nonetheless make monetary sense to undertake photo voltaic.

The knowledge right here give a chicken’s-eye view, although to know for positive how photo voltaic will work in your roof, you may have to discover the choices particular to you. Consultants suggest getting a number of quotes, together with from regional and native installers when potential.