Dive Brief:
- The Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee has moved three bills which aim to reduce or retire solar tax credits available for solar generation.
- One measure would sunset a tax credit on solar systems two years early—during this summer instead of at the end of 2017.
- Two other bills would reduce tax credits available for installing solar power, changing the percentage available for reimbursement and putting further restrictions on qualifications.
Dive Insight:
PV Tech reports that a House Ways and Means Committee in Louisiana has approved three bills which would place limits on solar tax credits available to residents. The bills are part of a legislative package seeking to restrict tax credits, and the news outlet said it is not clear which of the bills will ultimately be considered.
House Bill 510 would accelerate the sunset of the solar energy systems tax credit from Dec. 31, 2017, to July 1 of this year. Currently, the law provides a tax credit of 50% of the first $25,000 of the system's cost.
House Bill 779 would reduce the maximum value of a system eligible for the credit from $25,000 to $20,000, "and provides for various other changes regarding system eligibility and requirements for the claiming of the credit." The law would also repeal the credit for leased systems.
House Bill 817 seeks to limit the types of solar systems which would qualify for tax credits, meaning solar thermal systems would not be eligible. Exclusions are made for certain types of equipment.
Rep. Joel Robideaux (R), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said the state has spent eight years waiting to see benefit from solar tax credits, according to PV Tech. “Eight years are behind us and we are still waiting for the incentives to work as we planned," he said.
