Tax credits help fuel interest in alternative energies

From an article by Malavika Jagannathan in the Green Bay Press Gazette:

The promise of tax credits and savings could persuade more people to tap into alternative energy sources for their homes, businesses and cars in the coming years.

"People who have gas or fuel oil want to get away from it," said Rick Mccutchin, president and owner of Alternate Energys Inc. in Wrightstown. "Now with this stimulus package, if people know about (the tax credits), I believe they will flock to alternative sources."

Mccutchin's company originally installed conventional heating and cooling systems, offering geothermal systems as an alternative.

About two to three years ago, the company did about half and half.

Today they only install geothermal systems, which extracts and exchanges the earth's heat, providing either cooler or warmer temperatures inside a building.

Last year the company did about 64 installations — about 70 percent in existing homes and 30 percent in new homes — but Mccutchin expects more to come his way this year, partially thanks to the increase in tax credits as outlined in the stimulus package.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — the stimulus bill signed into law by President Barack Obama — included a number of changes to the energy efficiency tax credits. Federal tax credits for energy efficiency improvements have been raised from 10 percent to 30 percent, and caps on certain tax credits such as installing efficient windows and furnaces have been eliminated.

For a $20,000 geothermal system, a 30 percent tax credit would put it in the same cost range as a conventional heating and cooling system, Mccutchin said.

This stuff is not inexpensive," said Guy Fortin of Lake Michigan Wind & Sun in Sturgeon Bay. "Anything they can do to incentivize this helps."

If the cost of a solar electric system is $50,000, that could be cut in half when the 30 percent federal tax credits are combined with tax incentives from the state, Fortin explains.

The other attractiveness of renewable energy is its cleanliness when compared with fossil fuels, said Andy Williams, co-founder of Manitowoc-based GreenSky Energetics Inc., which installs solar thermal water heaters and solar forced air systems.