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DSIRE database of state incentives for Renewables and efficiency


DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Choose one or both databases to search:

Taxpayer Services
Florida Department of Revenue
1379 Blountstown Hwy.
Tallahassee, FL 32304-2716
Phone: (800) 352-3671
Phone 2: (850) 488-6800
Web site: http://www.myflorida.com/dor

Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit

Incentive Type: Corporate Tax Credit
Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies: Solar Thermal Electric, Photovoltaics, Wind, Biomass, Hydroelectric, Geothermal Electric, CHP/Cogeneration, Hydrogen, Tidal Energy, Wave Energy, Ocean Thermal
Applicable Sectors: Commercial
Amount: $0.01/kWh for electricity produced from 1/1/2007 through 6/30/2010
Maximum Incentive: No maximum specified for individual projects; Maximum of $5 million per state fiscal year for all credits under this program
Carryover Provisions: Unused credit may be carried forward for up to 5 years
Website: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/
energy/energyact/incentives.htm
Authority 1: SB 888
Date Enacted: 6/19/2006
Effective Date: 1/1/2007 - 6/30/2010 (PTC provision)
Authority 2: HB 7135
Date Enacted: 6/25/2008
Effective Date: 7/1/2008

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

0 commentsBrandon Jordan • September 29 2008 04:23PM

Renewable energy property tax exemption

In June 2008, Florida enacted legislation that revived a renewable energy property tax exemption that had previously expired in 1990. Under Florida law, improved real property upon which a renewable energy source device* is installed and operated is entitled to an exemption in the amount of the original cost of the device, including the installation cost. The exemption does not include the cost of replacing, removing or improving existing property in the course of the installation.  
 
Renewable energy devices must be installed on or after January 1, 2009, to qualify for the exemption, and the exemption will not be authorized for more than 10 years. If the renewable energy device was operative for less than a full calendar year preceding the taxpayer's exemption application, the exempt amount will be reduced proportionally.  
 
 
*The legislation states that a "renewable energy source device means any of the following equipment which, when installed in connection with a dwelling unit or other structure, collects, transmits, stores, or uses solar energy, wind energy, or energy derived from geothermal deposits: solar energy collectors; storage tanks and other storage systems, excluding swimming pools used as storage tanks; rockbeds; thermostats and other control devices; heat exchange devices; pumps and fans; roof ponds; freestanding thermal containers; pipes, ducts, refrigerant handling systems, and other equipment used to interconnect such systems (however, conventional backup systems of any type are not included in this definition); windmills; wind-driven generators; power conditioning and storage devices that use wind energy to generate electricity or mechanical forms of energy; pipes and other equipment used to transmit hot geothermal water to a dwelling or structure from a geothermal deposit."

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

0 commentsBrandon Jordan • September 29 2008 04:18PM

Lakeland Florida Electric - Solar Water Heating Program

Note: Lakeland has begun searching for private investment partnerships in order to expand the program.

Lakeland Electric, a municipal utility in Florida, is the nation's first utility to offer solar-heated domestic hot water on a "pay-for-energy" basis. The utility owns and maintains the solar water heaters they install on participating customers' homes and bills them only for hot water delivered to the faucet. The utility installs revenue-grade energy meters to measure the thermal output of the solar water heating systems. These meters internally convert the thermal energy (Btus) to an electricity equivalent (kWh) for billing purposes. Whereas hundreds of utilities across the U.S. offer their customers a green power option for a premium, the Lakeland program offers a customer-sited solar energy option that reduces the program participant's overall energy costs.

The program serves as an incentive to residential customers to utilize solar energy by:

  • eliminating up-front equipment expenditures and maintenance costs;
  • locking in a portion of the customer's energy costs at ~ 8¢/kWh (the solar energy rate) as compared to Lakeland's current electric rate of ~ 13¢/kWh; that is, a portion of their energy costs are exempt from fuel charge increases;
  • reducing standby losses when the water heater is not in use (typically ~ 15% of the energy consumption of a conventional hot water heater), thereby further reducing energy costs;
  • reducing the environmental impact of energy usage; and
  • providing for hot water during power outages.

The program benefits the utility by:

  • reducing electricity demand by approximately 0.4 kW on the summer system peak and by 0.7 kW on the winter system peak;
  • decreasing transmission and distribution losses because the solar energy is generated at the point of use;
  • creating a positive return on investment of about ~ 10% on an annual basis;
  • diversifying its resource base;
  • reducing environmental impact from its operations;
  • improving public relations by offering a renewable energy program; and
  • selling the renewable energy credits* generated by the solar water heating systems.

There are currently about 60 residential participants in the program. Lakeland Electric maintains a waiting list for future subscribers to the program. Plans call for the resumption of solar hot water installations in 2008.

Click here for a 2002 case study on the Lakeland program.

*Lakeland Electric retains ownership of the "green tags", or renewable energy certificates (RECs) associated with the solar thermal energy produced by the systems. In 2004, Lakeland Electric became the first utility to sell RECs derived from solar water heating systems through an arrangement with Sterling Planet, national green tag marketer.

Solar Water Heater - GEDA

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

0 commentsBrandon Jordan • September 29 2008 04:14PM

Renewable Energy Technologies Investment Tax Credit

In June 2006, a corporate tax credit was established in Florida (SB 888) to promote investment in (1) hydrogen-powered vehicles and hydrogen vehicle fueling stations; (2) commercial stationary hydrogen fuel cells; and (3) production, storage, and distribution of biodiesel and ethanol.

For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2007 through and ending December 31, 2010, the tax credit amount for each technology is as follows:

Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles and Hydrogen Vehicle Fueling Station: 75% of all capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, and research and development costs incurred between July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2010, up to a limit of $ 3 million per state fiscal year for all taxpayers, in connection with an investment in hydrogen-powered vehicles and hydrogen vehicle fueling stations in the state, including, but not limited to, the costs of constructing, installing, and equipping such technologies in the state.

Commercial Stationary Hydrogen Fuel Cells: 75% of all capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, and research and development costs incurred between July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2010, up to a limit of $ 1.5 million per state fiscal year for all taxpayers, and limited to a maximum of $ 12,000 per fuel cell, in connection with an investment in commercial stationary hydrogen fuel cells in the state, including, but not limited to, the costs of constructing, installing, and equipping such technologies in the state.

Biodiesel and Ethanol Production, Storage, and Distribution: 75% of all capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, and research and development costs incurred between July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2010, up to a limit of $ 6.5 million per state fiscal year for all taxpayers, in connection with an investment in the production, storage, and distribution of biodiesel (B10-B100) and ethanol (E10-E100) in the state, including the costs of constructing, installing, and equipping such technologies in the state. Gasoline fueling station pump retrofits for ethanol (E10-E100) distribution also qualify as an eligible cost.

If the credit is not fully used in any one tax year because of insufficient tax liability on the part of the corporation, the unused amount may be carried forward and used in tax years beginning January 1, 2007, and ending December 31, 2012, after which the credit carryover expires and may not be used.

To be eligible for the credit, corporations must submit a tax credit application to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and attach DEP's certification (if approved) to the tax return on which the credit is claimed.

The DEP will determine and publish on a regular basis the amount of available tax credits remaining in each fiscal year. If a taxpayer does not receive a tax credit allocation due to the exhaustion of the annual tax credit authorizations, the taxpayer may reapply in the following year for those eligible costs and will have priority over other applicants for the allocation of credits.

This legislation also created a a sales tax refund for products relating to hydrogen-powered vehicles, commercial stationary hydrogen fuel cells, and materials used in distributing biodiesel and ethanol.

Investment tax credit applications and draft rules are available on the program web site.


[Note: DSIRE does not generally report on incentives for transportation fuels and alternative fuel vehicles. However, this program is included because stationary fuel cells are eligible. Visit the Alternative Fuels Data Center

for information on all alternative fuels and vehicle incentives.]

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

0 commentsBrandon Jordan • September 29 2008 04:09PM

Florida Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit corp tax credit

In June 2006, a renewable energy production tax credit was established in Florida (SB 888) to encourage the development and expansion of renewable energy facilities in the state. This annual corporate tax credit is equal to $0.01/kWh of electricity produced and sold by the taxpayer to an unrelated party during a given tax year. For new facilities (placed in service after May 1, 2006) the credit is based on the sale of the facility's entire electrical production. For an expanded* facility, the credit is based on the increases in the facility's electrical production that are achieved after May 1, 2006.

For the purposes of this credit, renewable energy is defined as "electrical, mechanical, or thermal energy produced from a method that uses one or more of the following fuels or energy sources: hydrogen, biomass, solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, ocean energy, waste heat, or hydroelectric power."

The credit may be claimed for electricity produced and sold on or after January 1, 2007 through June 30, 2010. Beginning in 2008 and continuing until 2011, each taxpayer claiming a credit under this section must first apply to the Department of Revenue (DOR) by February 1 of each year for an allocation of available credit. If the credit granted is not fully used in one year because of insufficient tax liability, the unused amount may be carried forward for up to 5 years.

The combined total amount of tax credits which may be granted for all taxpayers under this program is limited to $5 million per state fiscal year. If the amount of credits applied for each year exceeds $5 million, the DOR will award a prorated amount based on each applicant's increased production and sales.

A taxpayer can not claim both this production tax credit and Florida's Renewable Energy Technologies Investment Tax Credit. In June 2008 Florida enacted HB 7135 which specified that a taxpayer's use of the credit does not reduce the amount of the Florida alternative minimum tax available to the taxpayer.

The application form and instructions may be found here

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

0 commentsBrandon Jordan • September 29 2008 04:05PM

Orlando Utilities Commission - Pilot Solar Programs

Incentive Type: Production Incentive
Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies: Solar Water Heat, Photovoltaics
Applicable Sectors: Commercial, Residential
Amount: $0.03/kWh for solar thermal, $0.05/kWh for PV
Maximum Incentive: No maximum specified
Terms: Five-year agreement with automatic renewal
Website: http://www.ouc.com/green/solar_pilots.htm



Summary:
The Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), through its Pilot Solar Program, offers to purchase the environmental attributes or renewable energy credits (RECs) from customers who install a photovoltaic (PV) and/or solar thermal energy system on their property. Incentive payments are equal to $0.05/kWh for PV and $0.03/kWh for solar water heating (SWH) systems and appear in the form of a credit on customers' monthly utility bills.*

Under this program, the electricity output of the PV system is used on-site and REC payments are based on the system's total output. Any net excess generation produced by PV systems is credited to the system owner at the utility's full retail rate.

This program is available for the first 600 kilowatts (kW) of residential PV installed and the first 1,200 kW of residential SWH generation capacity, as well as for the first two megawatts (MW) of "general service" (commercial) PV and the first 2 MW of "general service" SWH capacity.

Production agreements have an initial term of five years and automatically renew for five-year terms unless terminated by written notice by either party. Applicants must contract with a company listed in OUC's Preferred Contractor Network for solar installations. For installation financing options, OUC customers may apply for a low-interest Residential Solar Loan.


*Solar space heating systems and solar pool heating systems are not eligible. Solar water heating systems are metered in British Thermal Units (BTUs) and then converted to kWh to determine incentive credits.

Jennifer Szaro
Orlando Utilities Commission
500 S. Orange Ave.
Orlando, FL 32801
Phone: (407) 423-9100 Ext.2086
Fax: (407) 423-9198
E-Mail: JSzaro@ouc.com
Web site: http://www.ouc.com/

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

0 commentsBrandon Jordan • September 29 2008 04:02PM

Testing the twitter feed on Active Rain

This is the first post I am trying on Active Rain here to post to twitter, I had used my twitter account awhile ago and have not really updated it so this should help alot.

Here are some other Twitter related sites you may be interested in checking out. Enjoy this new feature, it will certainly drive more traffic to your Blog posts and it's so easy to use.

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

0 commentsBrandon Jordan • September 29 2008 03:45PM

Renewable Energy Equipment Sales Tax Exemption

Solar energy systems have been exempt from Florida's sales and use tax since July 1, 1997. The term "solar energy system" means the equipment and requisite hardware that provide and are used for collecting, transferring, converting, storing or using incidental solar energy for water heating, space heating and cooling, or other applications that would otherwise require the use of a conventional source of energy such as petroleum products, natural gas, manufactured gas or electricity. Vendors of solar energy systems or components are required to document exempt sales.  
 
This exemption was originally set to expire July 1, 2002, but was extended an additional three years. In May 2005, the exemption was made permanent when HB 805 (2005) was signed into law.  
 
In June 2006, Senate Bill 888 added "equipment, machinery and other materials for renewable energy technologies" to the list of items specifically exempt from the state sales and use tax. This includes hydrogen-powered vehicles; hydrogen-fueling stations (up to $2M total); commercial stationary hydrogen fuel cells (up to $1M total); and materials used in the distribution of biodiesel (B10-B100) and ethanol (E10-E100), including fueling infrastructure, transportation, and storage (up to $1M total).  
 
The exemption is available to a purchaser as a refund of previously paid taxes. An application, along with the sales invoice or other proof of purchase must be filed with the Department of Environmental Protection. This exemption for fuel cells and other equipment, machinery and materials for renewable energy technologies is effective through July 1, 2010. The exemption for solar energy systems, however, remains a permanent exemption. See website above for a draft sales tax exemption application form.

 

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

2 commentsBrandon Jordan • September 29 2008 01:24PM

NAR and political involvement

POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT

NAR'S political action committee (PAC) donated almost $4 million to congressional candidates this year, with over $1.3 million doled out during the week that ended Sept. 19, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The PAC gave $530,000 to Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.), $510,000 to Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), and a total of $890,000 to Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.). NAR had the second-highest independent expenditures during the 2006 election cycle, totaling $3.7 million.

Source: The Hill (09/22/08) Blake, Aaron

 

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

0 commentsBrandon Jordan • September 24 2008 02:58PM

Federal Aid and Mortgage Fraud in the news

FEDERAL AID

Homeowner advocates weighed in Tuesday on the Wall Street bailout bill, pressing Congress to include bankruptcy court relief for people unable to keep up with their mortgage payments. Investors' advocates also demanded relief.

Read the full story:

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n3-092408.cfm
       __________________________


MORTGAGE FRAUD

Mortgage fraud may be a problem for both homeowners and huge corporations. Two law enforcement officials said Tuesday the FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, insurer American International Group Inc. and other companies.

Read the full story:

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n4-092408.cfm

 

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

0 commentsBrandon Jordan • September 24 2008 02:55PM