New York Energy Tax Credits

New York Energy Tax Credits for grid-tied photovoltaic systems

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) provides incentives of $2 to $5 per watt (DC) to eligible (certified) New York solar installers for the installation of approved, grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems.

The New York Energy Tax incentives rules

The maximum capacity supported by the program is 8 kW for residential systems. Incentives are only available to eligible certified installers, and incentives must be passed on to customers. (it means that the installer collects the incentive from the state but he must pass it to his customer. Effectively, the customer gets the rebate so the job is discounted). Once eligible, installers reserve incentives for approved systems, for the specific customers.

• Residential Incentives: $3.00/W up to 4 kW, $2.00/W for next 4 kW up to a maximum of 8 kW per site meter


• Bonus incentive: $0.50/W for Energy Star Homes and building integrated PV (BIPV) systems

For further details contact the Public Information Specialist (866) 697-3732

Property Tax Exemption

Section 487 of the New York State Property Tax Law provides a 15-year real property tax exemption for solar and wind energy systems that were installed in New York State.

For more information contact the Public Information Officer (518)-486-5446

What is watt?

For the purpose of the tax rebate, the production capability is measured in watts (DC), this is how much power the solar panels can generate as specified by the vendor. In essence the actual production is lower for two reasons. DC is converted to AC by the solar DC to AC inverter and some power is unfortunately converted to heat rather than to useful AC power in the inverter. In real life, due to non-optimal installation, aging, temperature effects and other factors produce less than its theoretical rating. Click to read more on grid-tied photovoltaic systems

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