Subsidies Help Residents Go Solar

Some Worry Financial Perks Will Dry Up

In the house that Tim Dowd is building in Howard County, he wants to keep the monthly electricity bill as low as possible. He has done everything he can think of, installing thicker walls with more insulation and buying higher-grade windows.

Early in the process, he studied wind and solar power and geothermal heating. The solar system he settled on cost $35,000.

"There's no doubt about it: It takes a lot of green to be green," said Dowd, 31, of Woodbine, a D.C. firefighter.

Luckily for him, subsidies are making solar energy more affordable. He said he'll get a $5,000 tax credit from Howard, $2,000 off his federal taxes and a $10,000 grant from Maryland. That will bring the cost of the system to $18,000.

Dowd is among the increasing number of Maryland homeowners taking advantage of government incentives to install solar power. Participation isn't widespread, but with rising utility prices and more awareness about climate change, solar technology is becoming more palatable.

Environmentalists and solar business owners say that they are worried the state will run out of grant money this year and that they are concerned about a federal tax credit -- of up to $2,000 -- that expires at the end of the year. Congress has not renewed it.

Montgomery County rolled out tax breaks for environmentally friendly design initiatives, including solar power, at the beginning of July. Three weeks later, the Prince George's County Council approved a measure that allows homeowners to claim a credit of up to $5,000 on their property taxes for installing certain solar or geothermal energy devices. Those jurisdictions followed Howard, Anne Arundel and Harford counties, which had started offering similar incentives in recent years.

County-level incentives to use solar technology, which is relatively expensive compared with traditional methods, initially drew a lukewarm response in Maryland, officials said. But in the past year, more homeowners have shown interest.

A grant program administered by the Maryland Energy Administration disbursed its allotted $590,000 for the year on the first day applications were reviewed, said Brandon Farris, the agency's policy director. About 95 people received grants, he said, and more than 60 were put on a waiting list.

About 330 projects have benefited from the grants since the program began in 2005, Farris said. Those who qualify in the first-come, first-served process can receive up to $10,000.

But some who counted on the state money found it gone.

Del. Jon S. Cardin (D-Baltimore County) has pushed hard for solar energy rebates and tax credits in the General Assembly, but he said the budget for grants got slashed during the last legislative session as the legislators confronted a deep deficit.