Solar panels have become a lifesaver for many households and businesses. Well-installed panels powered homes, reducing their dependence on coal-powered energy sources. Plus, the technology continues to progress towards efficiency and compact, rapid installations. However, it still faces one big problem for universal adoption: will solar panels ever become more affordable in the future?
One point to consider is the number of manufacturers. Technology companies worldwide continue to dip themselves into the market. Samsung and LG have their respective solar panel lines. Other American, Korean, and Japanese companies continue to step into the industry with promising technologies. The crowding manufacturer population continues to drive down costs and improve solar energy efficiency. Therefore, you'll get the highest possible efficiency possible from your solar panels even if you had to pay the same prices.
In the last year, GAF Timberline Solar Shingles outshined Tesla's solar shingle line. Homeowners bought a shingle that functioned as an efficient roof material that collects energy for use as electricity from the sun. In addition, GAF introduces them as a regular roofing material that any roofer with a short training period can use.
The Inflation Reduction Act in some American states may further contribute to the lower solar panel prices. Learn more about them from Cleveland.com's post below.
The cost of putting solar panels on your home or business just dropped with the signing of the federal Inflation Reduction Act, which increases and extends federal investment tax credits that had been scheduled to be phased out or reduced.
The legislation that Congress passed earlier this year bumps up the investment tax credit on a residential solar installation to 30% from 26% and extends it through 2032, after which it drops back down to 26% in 2033 and 22% in 2034, before phasing out altogether in 2035.
As it stood prior to the new law, the tax credit for residential installations was scheduled to drop to 22% in 2023 and go away entirely in 2024.
The tax credit for small commercial installations, which was set to decrease from 26% to 22% in 2023 and then to 10% in 2024, where it would stay indefinitely, is now 30% and will remain there until at least 2033. Projects that are 1 megawatt or larger have conditions that must be met to receive full benefit of the tax change.
“Interest is through the roof. Everybody is talking about it,” said Tristan Rader, a Lakewood councilman and Ohio program director for Solar United Neighbors, a national nonprofit that organizes residential solar co-ops across the country.
Rader said a recent information session for a proposed solar co-op in the Cincinnati area had three times as many people show up as had registered prior to passage of the Infrastructure Reduction Act.
SUN’s average co-op cost for installing residential solar power is about $2.50 per watt, and a typical residential installation costs between $15,000 and $20,000, Rader said. With the tax credit boost to $30%, the savings on a $15,000 project is now $4,500 instead of $3,900.
But more significant than the tax credit boost is the extension, he said.
At Better Together Solar, a Cleveland installer of solar arrays, demand for its services is expected to increase, said Jack Slater, the company’s director of sales. For one thing, extension of the credit means potential customers won’t have to rush to meet a tight deadline. (Continue reading here to learn more)
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