Published: 3/9/2023 7:00:35 AM
Modified: 3/9/2023 7:00:23 AM
Responding to David Brooks March 5 “Local towns consider community solar future.” In addition to community power aggregation, other great opportunities now exist for communities to invest in clean, locally-sourced power, reduce their carbon footprint, and save taxpayer money. The Inflation Reduction Act will refund 30% of the cost of new solar installations, provided the installer pays prevailing wages, and uses apprenticeships. This benefit extends through 2032 and is available as a direct payment to tax-exempt entities like municipalities. Combining this with other grants, such as New Hampshire’s Commercial and Industrial solar incentive, reduces upfront costs and makes the investment in clean energy a financial win.
Incentives for clean energy investments should reduce our U.S. carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. But that depends on communities, businesses and households making those investments, and on improving our electricity grid so it can carry the new clean energy generation to where it’s needed. There’s also still a gap between emissions reductions from these incentives, and where we need to be to achieve a safe level of emissions reductions. If you are interested in learning which actions are most effective at closing this gap, a free workshop and demonstration on this topic is happening on Saturday, March 11 at the Laconia Public Library.
Wharton Sinkler
Center Sandwich