Federal tax incentives for energy efficiency

The federal government is offering tax incentives to encourage energy efficiency. Hey, it's your tax money; take advantage of these incentives before your competitors do! Projects must be in place and successfully operating by the end of 2016 to be eligible. Business Energy Investment Tax Credit Tax credits tied to expenditures for energy efficiency are available for new projects: * Solar installations: Credits of 30% of expenditures with no maximum credit. Read carefully: certain solar applications are not eligible. * Small wind turbines: Credits of 30% of expenditures with no maximum credit for turbines with up to 100kW in capacity installed in 2009 or later. * Geothermal installations: Credits of 10% of expenditures with no maximum credit. * Micro turbines: Credits of 10% of expenditures with no maximum credit. This applies to Micro Turbines up to $200 per kW of capacity. * Fuel cells: Credits of 30% of expenditures with no maximum credit. * Combined heat and power: Credits of 10% of expenditures with no listed credit limit, if CHP exceeds 60% energy efficiency. EPAct The current Energy Policy Act (EPAct) provides businesses with tax deductions from $0.30 to $1.80/s/f for implementing lighting, building envelope, and/or HVAC upgrades in commercial buildings. These deductions expire at the end of 2013; so time is short for a simple, eligible project (i.e., lighting, insulation upgrades). Congress has a draft bill extending EPAct to 2016 with larger tax deduction incentives, with bi-partisan support. But Congress being Congress these days, it is unclear if the extension will pass at all or in what form or when. Deductions require a professional engineer to certify that your building is significantly more energy efficient than applicable ASHRAE 2001 standards. Fleet Vehicles Tax credits ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 are available for plug-in electric/hybrid vehicles purchased after 2010. Make sure to speak to a tax expert/accounting professional before implementing energy strategies that will produce tax credits or deductions. CCES has the technical experience and professionals to help you upgrade your energy profile to obtain EPAct tax deductions or supervise implementing renewable energy strategies listed above. And our work can help maximize your savings of utility costs, as well. Marc Karell, P.E., CEM, is the president of Climate Change & Environmental Services, LLC, Mamaroneck, N.Y.