Last week, we tried to give you a roadmap of some of the great incentives currently available to residential and commericial solar customers. A few months back, our President, Sean Mullen, authored a great piece for Pacific Business News entitled, "Solar Investment: The Time is Now, Right Now" in which he laid out precisely the level of combined savings available to Hawaii customers and made the case for why now is the time to invest in solar. In case you missed it, we've included it below. 

The economic outlook may be uncertain on many fronts, but 2010 holds definite promise for Hawaii business owners looking to take advantage of renewable energy—though smart investors must be keenly aware that the clock is ticking.

Change is on the horizon for both the state and federal solar tax incentive programs. Currently federal incentives are available as either a 30% tax credit or as a 30% cash grant, but the cash grant program expires at the end of 2010. Similarly, Hawaii’s state incentives are available as either a 35% tax credit or 24.5% refundable tax credit. Unfortunately, not only is the federal grant expiring, but there is significant uncertainty as to how long the state refund program will last as well. Combined, these incentives can offer up to 54.5% cash back, or a 65% tax shield depending on your tax appetite.

In a slowly recovering economy, safe investments are few and far between, and even fewer are those predominantly paid for by the government, but business owners must act soon to benefit from both the state and federal ‘cash-back’ programs.

And the urgency doesn’t end there—the cash-back federal incentive requires that qualifying systems be installed and operational by December 31st, 2010. This deadline, along with the expiration of the federal cash grant, is sure to generate a drastic Q3-Q4 draw down in manufacturer supply due to imminent nationwide demand. As such, if organizations do not commit to a photovoltaic system purchase early in the year, it is very possible that hardware will simply be unavailable as the calendar comes to a close.

So act now, right now, to take advantage of opportunities that may never be available again. Turn to Sunetric, Hawaii’s solar authority, and gain a crystal clear view of the ideal energy investment options for you, your company and Hawaii.

Sean Mullen, President