Wyoming - Energy tax credit, solar rebates and incentives

Wyoming Renewable and Solar Energy Incentives

Renewable Energy Sales Tax Exemption (Commercial)

• Commercial businesses and industrial entities are granted complete sales tax exemption on renewable energy equipment designed to generate electricity.
• Qualifying systems: solar thermal electric, solar panel electic (PV), landfill gas, biomass, wind, hydroelectric, fuel cells, geothermal electric.

Residential Renewable Energy Program (Residential)

Homeowners in the state of Wyoming are provided with a rebate program designed to help pay for the purchase and installation of a renewable energy system.

• Qualifying systems: solar panel (PV), geothermal heat pumps, wind turbine, hybrid PV.
• solar PV and wind energy projects qualify for a rebate of $2,000/installed kW DC.  Geothermal heat pumps receive $2,000/installed ton.
• There is a maximum incentive of $10,000 or 50% of the overall cost of the project (lesser value prevails).
• solar power PV and wind generator systems must not exceed 20 kW in size to be eligible.  Geothermal heat pumps must not exceed 5.5 tons.

Renewable Energy Loan Program – Powder River Energy Corporation (Residential/Commercial)

PRECorp grants small loan amounts to its costumers who are interested in installing solar panel PV, wind turbine, or small hydroelectric systems on their property.

• Loans of up to $2,500 may be lent to qualifying applicants, which must be paid back within 36 months of the lending date.  The interest rate is currently set at 0%.
• A 4% application fee of the total loan amount is requested in this program.

Net Metering (Residential/Commercial)

• Net metering is offered to Wyoming residents and small commercial businesses that are costumers of investor-owned utilities, electricity coops and irrigation districts.
• Qualifying systems: solar panel PV, wind power, hydroelectric, biomass.
• Systems must not exceed 25 kW in size to be eligible.
• Payment is received in the form of credit on the costumer’s monthly electric bill, derived from the net excess generation (NEG) produced from a renewable energy system.

Utility-sponsored Rebate Programs (Residential/Commercial)

• There are various rebate programs administered by utility companies designed to help its costumers purchase and install renewable and conservation energy technologies.
• The majority of these programs are reserved for energy efficient technologies.

Federal Energy Tax Credit (Residential/Commercial)

Individual taxpayers and commercial businesses are granted a tax credit of 30% of the total expenses, which include installation of residential and commercial solar panel (electric) systems, solar thermal systems, fuel cells and labor expenses.  Residential wind energy installations and geothermal pumps are also eligible for the Federal energy tax credit.

• Solar electric systems and solar thermal heaters have no limit to the incentive.
• If there is excess federal tax credit, it may be carried over to the subsequent taxable year.  
• This may continue on through consecutive years until 2016, under which unused credit may or may not be expunged.

Federal Energy Conservation Subsidy Exclusion (Residential)

• Public utilities provide residential purchasers with an exemption of 100% of energy conservation subsidies.  
• The overall worth of an installation or renewable utility regardless of the energy conservation capacity, will be excluded from the buyer’s gross income.  
• Customers who participate in a utility company’s energy conservation program may be given a reduced rate of electricity utilized or a nonrefundable credit of the price of electricity on the customer’s monthly electric bill.

Energy-Efficient Mortgages (Residential)

• With this federal loan program, homeowners may utilize energy-efficient mortgages (EEM) to either supplement or completely fund renewable energy systems.

Example: 4KW System – Residential Installation Cost

Average Electric Bill: $250/mo
Projected Annual Bill Escalation: 5%
Cost Per Watt: $6.50

- Estimated System Cost: $26,000
- Federal/State Tax Credit: $6,900
- State/Utility Rebate: $3,000
- Net Cost: $16,100
- Cumulative Lifetime Savings (25 Years): $14,204
- Investment Return: 1.8%

Savings of 38% on the total cost of your solar system through incentives