Subsidies Help Residents Go Solar

Deborah Parrish had solar panels installed at her Gaithersburg home in July, spurred by a Montgomery tax break. (Courtesy Of Standard Solar)

Besides the limited state money, there are caps on how much each county will allow individuals to claim exemptions for. So far, there haven't been enough applications to cause a problem.

But not everyone thinks the subsidies are the best use of taxpayer dollars.

"Throwing more subsidies at [solar power] will mainly serve to increase revenues for producers because they can charge a higher price," said Benjamin F. Hobbs, a professor of environmental management at Johns Hopkins University.

Jeff Dorety, director of sales for Chesapeake Solar in Jessup, said homeowners in Maryland have more to gain than those in the District and Virginia. But he said the weak economy could dry up revenue and prompt governments to slash subsidies.

Kenneth Orski, who said he's "nearing 70," spent $38,000 for solar panels on his Potomac home about two months ago. He said that he had vaguely known about the incentives but that he didn't realize how much he could get back until a salesman told him.

Orski said the $9,200 he could apply for from the state was "the trigger" that pushed him to buy the panels. A meter in his garage allows him to track how much energy they are producing, and he said he also enjoys watching his utility bills drop.

"That's sort of a psychological reward that we obtain from having installed the solar panels," he said.