Mississippi Solar Rebates and Incentives

Named after the mighty river that bisects our great nation, home of the Port Gibson Heritage Festival, and birthplace of celebrities ranging from the wealthiest woman in the United States, Oprah Winfrey, to the sensational amphibian Kermit the Frog, Mississippi has had its share of success and defeat. Recently, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina put Mississippi in a daze, and because of the sheer magnitude of the relief effort the green economy in the “Magnolia State” has been left singing the blues.

As if Hurricane Katrina wasn’t enough, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill caused by energy goliath British Petroleum (BP) has added to the woes of the Mississippi coastline, and as a result has left the state’s budget with little choice but to put the green energy agenda on the back burner to address these disasters, and the massive effort to ensure the state’s recovery.

Fortunately, Mississippi does have policies in place to help keep the renewable energy market moving forward with incentives, rebates, and tax breaks that make installing renewable energy systems much more feasible.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has created a program called generation partners Green Power Switch (GPS) that encourages consumers to give back by providing incentives to install renewable energy systems offering to not only offset the cost of expensive energy bills, but to also provide a means for consumers to become producers, and sell their excess energy back to the TVA at very competitive prices.

By allowing residents to turn a profit on their environmentally conscious investment, renewable technology has become much more attractive, especially with programs like the energy investment loan program which allows consumers to borrow the money needed to purchase and build renewable energy installations at a fixed interest rate that is 3 percent less than the prime rate currently available.

Mississippi currently does have some good green policies in place, but until it’s able to establish a Renewable Energy Standard (RES) it will still be trailing the greater majority of the nation in progressive renewable technology and policy, the investors who wish to cash in on the new green revolution, and the jobs that would come with the production and maintenance of the new installations. For example, the state of Michigan, who has adopted a RES that aims to have 25 percent of the state’s energy produced by renewable means by 2015, has already seen $9 billion in investment revenue, and is predicting to see a growth of 9,000 jobs in the next 10 years.
 

 

Solar Rebate and Incentive Programs