Risk Management Blog

Last year, Congress’ approved 2016 federal spending bill included an extension of the solar panel tax credit.

Homeowners, solar companies, and industry advocates alike were given a big Christmas gift in 2015 when Congress approved the 2016 federal spending bill and extended the solar panel tax credit. The December 18 bill contained a 5-year solar tax credit extension, which makes solar more affordable for all Americans. —http://news.energysage.com/congress-extends-the-solar-tax-credit/

The intentions and hopes of the extension were to maintain the solar installation momentum that is currently evolving, the boom. This boom is being experienced across the Western World with Solar Power Installation in Australia also being extremely popular. Home energy providers are making it easier to adopt the emerging renewable energy boom with incentives like a Chariot Energy promo code for those in Texas to receive discounted rates.

Prices for solar panels and other components continue to fall. But the largest reason for the expected U.S. surge in 2016 was the scheduled expiration of the federal investment tax credit at the end of the year. That changed when Congress passed an omnibus spending bill that includes a five-year extension of the investment tax credit for solar and wind power projects. Established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the investment tax credit provides a tax credit of 30 percent of the value of solar projects. Annual solar installations have grown by at a compound rate of 76 percent since the act was implemented in 2006. —https://www.technologyreview.com/s/544981/tax-credit-extension-gives-solar-industry-a-new-boom/.

It’s a boom, no doubt about it, and public records companies like First Corporate Solutions are part of it, and part of the evolving process, when it comes to security interests and the mechanisms to perfect them.

Many solar financiers today offer at least the following three products: leases, power purchase agreements (PPAs), and loans. The first two are third-party ownership (TPO) products-i.e., ownership of the system remains with the financier and the customer pays a monthly sum (fixed or dependent on energy production) to access that system. In a loan arrangement, the customer owns the system and remits to the financier a monthly payment of principal and interest to pay down the debt.—

Are you in the solar industry? Does your company finance solar panel installations? We’d love to hear from you! Contact us and tell us how you are managing the process; are you leasing and/or providing loans, and what factors guide your decision?

Are you experiencing any troubles with obtaining legal descriptions for your solar panel installation fixture filings? FCS can help. Contact us today! You can learn more about FCS’ Online UCC Portfolio Manager, designed to take the headaches out of your fixture filing process for your solar panel installations.