HSEA Executive Director Leslie Cole-Brooks Talks Tax Incentives with Hawaii News Now

HSEA Executive Director Leslie Cole-Brooks Talks Tax Incentives in 2013 with Hawaii News Now:

Featured January 11th, 2013:

See the video interview by clicking here:

Leslie Cole-Brooks, Executive Director at the Hawaii Solar Energy Association stopped by the Hawaii News Now studios last week to talk about the changes to the Hawaii Solar Tax Credit and explain what’s different.

There has been a fair amount of confusion around the changes to the tax credits that took effect with the New Year, and Leslie took time to explain:

• First of all, there is a still a tax credit–it hasn’t be removed or expired.
• The primary change is that a PV ‘system’ has been defined as 5 kilowatts–about 20 panels–to qualify for the maximum tax credit of $5,000. (Smaller systems, however, do qualify for a portion of that maximum amount.)
• As with current rules, a system’s installation can be broken up over multiple years to take advantage of the tax credits each year.

Leslie points out that while the tax changes may have a negative effect on business, solar is booming here in Hawaii and we all benefit from it: “You can still go solar; solar is still a great idea and a great deal.”