On Long Island (both Nassau and Suffolk counties), there are 3 components to the solar energy incentives that are available:

LIPA Solar Pioneer rebate- $3.50/watt up to 10,000 watts
Federal 30% Income tax credit – no cap
NY State 25% Income tax credit - $5,000 cap

The federal and NY state ITC’s are credits off your tax liability - they lower the amount of your tax, not your income so they are like cash!

A typical system in Long Island might look like this:

6 kW system would generate approx. 7,600 kWh/year or about	$1,500 year in electricity
Contract Cost	$46,500
LIPA Rebate	$21,000
Net to Customer	$25,500
30% Fed ITC	$ 7,650
25% NYS ITC	$ 5,000
Final Net Cost	$12,850

If you paid cash for this system, you would break even between year 5 and 6 and would accrue savings of $60,928 over the system life.

If you refinanced your home at 5.5% for 30 years to pay for the system you would be paying half as much per month as you are now paying for electricity, the interest would be tax deductible, and your savings would grow to $47,814 over 25 years.