This content is provided by the Montgomery County Green Bank.
Feeling that sun pretty intensely this summer? Are you thinking – “Hey, it’s time I harvest that intensity?” “Maybe I should use that sunshine to help pay my electric bills?”
Good thinking! When you go solar, that’s exactly what happens. You harness the power of the sun to power your home and save with clean energy. But, why now, you ask?
Here’s why! If you go solar now, you could get it for less money! That’s because the fourth Montgomery County Solar Co-op is happening right now. By participating in the co-op you can get a solar PV system at an attractive group rate – a rate leveraged by the strength of the number of members.
And, if you install a system in 2020 then you could take advantage of the 26% federal tax credit.
So far, more than 130 Montgomery County residents have joined the Montgomery County Solar Co-op, managed by nonprofit Solar United Neighbors (SUN) in partnership with the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection. Solar co-op members are guided through the process by SUN and learn about the ins and outs of solar energy from SUN’s experts.
Excited? There’s still time to join! The Montgomery County Solar Co-op is free to join and is still open to new members, but only until August 31.
Joining the co-op doesn’t obligate members to purchase solar. Instead, each member will have the option to individually purchase panels – and electric vehicle chargers – from a democratically chosen installer. This year the Montgomery County Solar Co-op members chose Solar Energy World.
Need financing?
But, you may be thinking “I don’t have the money to do this right now, even with that nice pricing of the co-op and the tax break.”
Well, here’s a particularly good bright spot! Co-op members who need financial support can work with the Montgomery County Green Bank’s financing program provided by the Green Bank’s participating lenders and offered through Solar Energy World. The Green Bank’s financing program can help co-op members finance up to 100% of the system.
Let us repeat that: A homeowner can purchase a solar PV system with no out-of-pocket costs with the help of the Green Bank financing program.
John McNamara, a Montgomery County resident, went solar with the 2016 Solar Co-op and thinks that “solar should be part of anyone’s long term savings plan.” His installation ended up, after rebates, costing about $17,000, and it saves him about $1,700 a year in electric bills. He could think of that as a 10-year payback. Instead, he thinks of it as a 10% return on an investment – forever and tax free. And that is just one story.
Why wait? It’s time to take advantage of all this sunshine!
And, just in case this is not the time for you to go solar, the Montgomery County Green Bank’s financing program can help any homeowner in Montgomery County go solar on their rooftop when they want with 100% financing. Just go to the Montgomery County Green Bank website and contact a solar contractor that works with the Green Bank.
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The Montgomery County Green Bank is a publicly-chartered nonprofit corporation dedicated to accelerating affordable energy efficiency and clean energy investment in Montgomery County, MD. The Green Bank aids residents to achieve more energy savings and healthier environments by providing financing tools to help make it easier and more affordable for county residents and businesses to move ahead on clean energy projects.
