Over 8,300 homeowners in Louisiana have used EnergySage to receive & compare solar panel installation quotes!
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Solar installation costs do not include the 30% federal investment tax credit or local incentives. Savings estimates do not account for utility net billing rates.
Thanks to one of the biggest solar tax credits in the United States, the Bayou State is one of the best places in the country to go solar.
This Southeastern state known for Mardi Gras and jazz is also a great place for solar energy. Louisiana has solar incentives–including net metering and low-interest home improvement loans to homeowners–that improve the financials of going solar. In fact, solar incentives in The Pelican State can help you save thousands on your electricity costs.
Louisiana's average cost of a solar panel installation ranges from $13,898 to $18,802. On a cost per watt ($/W) basis, a solar panel installation in Louisiana ranges in price from $2.78 to $3.76. See how Louisiana compares to solar panel costs across the U.S.
Another calculation that potential solar buyers have to consider is the solar payback period. This term tells us as at what time you will recover your initial investment through electricity savings from your solar system. For Louisiana, the average solar payback period is 11.08 years.
Another choice that solar shoppers have to face is how to pay for a solar panel system. Fortunately, there are many financial options available to ensure the customer can afford installations. Cash purchases are one common method to pay for solar and often lead to the most long-term value for your money. If an upfront purchase isn’t right for you, solar loans and solar lease/PPAs are available to help finance a solar energy system.
For property owners, you now can customize your solar panels, inverters, racking systems, and batteries, as well as the general aesthetic of the installation. This customizability has made it important for solar consumers to understand these various factors. For example, the best solar panels available may have premium efficiencies and warranties, but will typically be more costly. However, depending on the size of the installation, you’ll need to determine whether high-efficiency solar panels that can produce more electricity are worthwhile. Also, your appetite for risk can help determine which solar warranties best fit your needs. These are just a few of the many factors to consider when selecting solar panel equipment.
Aside from the power output of the solar equipment you choose to install, the amount of energy you generate with solar panels in Illinois is directly related to the amount of sunlight that hits your panels. Louisiana ranks in the top 20 of US states for the number of peak sun hours received per year and sees over 100 clear days per year, affording the Pelican State excellent solar potential.
There are additional factors that determine how much solar electricity you can produce. These include shading and panel angle, which are used to calculate your total production estimate. a prediction of how much energy your solar installation will produce over time. This evaluation offers a clear estimate of how much energy your solar installation will produce. You can see how much solar panels can save you based on factors like geographic location and shading by using the EnergySage Solar Calculator – the calculator will take into account site-specific conditions like shade and geography.
Solar incentives in Louisiana can help you reduce the overall price of going solar. Learn more about why solar panels are such a great investment in Louisiana.
Learn about solar incentives in LAThe federal investment tax credit, now referred to as the Residential Clean Energy Credit for residential systems, has been one of the most reliable and impactful incentives for solar across the U.S. This solar incentive allows you to deduct 30 percent of the total system cost from your federal taxes. For example, a solar energy system installation that costs $15,000 out of pocket will qualify for a tax deduction of $4,500. For residential systems, this advantageous incentive lasts until the end of 2032 at which point it steps down to 26 percent. The federal ITC drops to 22 percent in 2034 and is eliminated for residential solar installations in 2035. Commercial systems are eligible at least through 2024, but may not be eligible for the full 30 percent depending on certain labor and domestic manufacturing requirements; they also may be eligible for specific ITC adders.
Besides the federal ITC, Louisiana has additional incentives for going solar that are dependent on your area and utility company. Of note are the availability of net metering and low-interest home improvement loans through the Home Energy Loan Program (HELP). To learn more about Louisiana’s best financial incentives for solar, check out our complete overview of the state’s best solar incentives.
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Learn more about EnergySageFueled by dropping solar prices and available state financial incentives, Louisiana has seen a major uptick in its solar capacity in recent years, with all 100 megawatts (MW) installed since 2013. According to SEIA’s national rankings, in 2019 the state’s solar capacity ranks 37th in the nation, which is a big jump from the state’s previous ranking of 45th in 2017.
The first piece of solar legislation passed in the state was the Solar Energy System Exemption in 2003. Specifically, this act stipulates installed solar systems will be treated as personal property and owners will be exempt from ad valorem taxation by the state. This form of property tax incentive has been a staple throughout the country for encouraging property owners to install renewable energy systems like solar panels.
Later in 2003, Louisiana further bolstered its solar policy portfolio by implementing net metering. This type of program allows distributed generation from property-owned energy systems to be sold back to utilities so that residents can receive value for the energy they individually produce. The rate at which utilities buy back the solar varies state to state: Louisiana investor-owned utilities compensate property owners with net excess generation at the avoided-cost price. Though there is room for improvement in Louisiana’s net metering policies–i.e., the state could raise the cap limit–this policy has been crucial for the residential solar industry.
The next action Louisiana took to make solar more accessible was to develop and provide low-interest solar loans through the Home Energy Loan Program (HELP). Created in 2005 and administered by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, the program offers eligible homeowners up to five-year loans that are used to improve the energy footprint of their homes, like installing solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Furthermore, the Department subsidizes half of the financing for energy efficiency enhancements up to a maximum of $6,000.
Louisiana lawmakers went on to enact the Solar Rights regulatory policy in 2010, which guarantees that certain entities cannot restrict a property owner from installing a solar collector or any system or device that uses sunlight as an energy source. While this act does not provide financial incentives, safeguarding the rights of property owners to invest in and produce clean, solar energy is an important confidence boost to the industry.
In the same year, Louisiana garnered interest from solar advocates nationwide as the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) unanimously approved the Renewable Energy Pilot Program to determine whether a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) would be suitable for the state. The implications for the state’s solar industry were substantial given that roughly half of the growth in U.S. renewable energy generation and capacity since 2000 can be attributed to RPS-type policies. Unfortunately for solar advocates, Louisiana concluded in 2013 that a mandatory RPS was not necessary in-state.
The most impactful solar policy in Louisiana was the solar tax credit program in 2008. This financial incentive provided a 50 percent tax credit up to $12,500 for the purchase of installing a solar energy system. Residents raced to take advantage of this generous state incentive; however, controversy ensued when the legislature shuttered the program two years early in 2015.
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