- The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will extend the investment tax credit, providing residential solar users with a tax credit equivalent to 30% of the cost of equipment
- The tax credits will seek to incentivise the continued growth of the US solar energy sector
- Although new solar energy capacity accounted for half of the growth of electricity generation capability within the US in 1Q22, the nation’s cumulative solar energy capacity is sufficient to power a mere 18 million homes
- Through its revolutionary SmartGreen(TM) Home solution, GeoSolar Technologies will help household lower both, their carbon footprint as well as their utility bill outlay
The newly passed Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has been hailed for its extensive remit, ranging from curbing inflation through a reduction of the United States fiscal deficit through to cutting prescription drug prices. However, one of the most impactful provisions within the bill is the long-term extension of the investment tax credit, a subsidy which has been instrumental in launching the US solar industry as we know it today. The bill calls for a 10-year extension of subsidies in the form of tax credits valued at 30% of the cost of the installed equipment, which will then step down to 26% in 2033 and 22% in 2034. Moreover, the tax credit also applies to residential adopters of solar technology; in effect, the 30% credit will retroactively apply to anyone who installed their system dating back to the beginning of 2022 – a welcome outcome for the likes of Colorado-based GeoSolar Technologies (“GST”), a climate technology company seeking to harness renewable energy sources to power and purify homes and automobiles without the use of fossil fuels.
“With long-term incentives for clean energy deployment and manufacturing, the solar and storage industry is ready to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and get to work building out the next era of American energy leadership. This is a crucial window of opportunity that we cannot miss, and now Congress must seal the deal and pass this legislation,” stated Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association (https://ibn.fm/uEd7c).
However, and despite the positive news-flow surrounding the US solar energy sector, adoption of solar power by American residential & commercial consumers remains woefully low. California is currently the only state which derives upwards of 20 percent of their electricity from solar power, sufficient to power 7.9 million homes (https://ibn.fm/LHVW1). Meanwhile, an astonishing 26 states develop less than 1 percent of their grid energy from solar sources.
Despite its long-term economic benefits – solar power is more economical than conventional energy sources when amortised over the lifetime or the solar panel system (about 20 years), solar adoption has become inequitable, with a decided skew towards higher-income households. A key factor has been the elevated upfront cost of a residential solar power system, costing anywhere between $3,500 to $16,000, with the wide range a factor of the system being installed as well as the type of panels being utilized (https://ibn.fm/OrqDl). Additionally, potential cost savings are not straightforward to calculate.
The solar energy generated by a residential system is oft quoted in terms of the theoretical electrical output potential in watts. However, the typical output realized for installed photovoltaic (“PV”) systems—known as the capacity factor—is between 15% and 30% of the theoretical output (https://ibn.fm/b80WB). The generated output then must be factored against the cost of energy being drawn from the local electricity grid. This can vary greatly, depending on whether a local utility charges customers a flat rate for electricity, regardless of the time of consumption or whether pricing varies at different rates throughout the day to mirror the actual cost of electricity production at different times.
GeoSolar Technologies’ home energy solution has sought to adopt a multi-pronged approach towards electrifying homes using green energy sources. From solar panels on roofs through to geothermal heat pumps which take advantage of the warmth of the earth’s core and advanced CERV 2 air purification systems designed to manage indoor air quality in an efficient and intelligent manner, the GeoSolar’s proprietary SmartGreen(TM) Home solution has been designed to dramatically increase the energy efficiency of a conventional household. Moreover, the technology voids the need for households to depend on conventional utilities or pay utility bills. In fact, a study carried out by the company found that a traditional utility-powered home would possess a carbon footprint of upwards of 8 tons of CO2/year whilst paying annual utility bills of $2,700; in contrast, a GeoSolar-powered home would result in a negligible carbon footprint whilst disbursing less than $100 per annum in utility bills (https://www.geosolarplus.org/geosolarplus).
From just 0.34 GW in 2008, U.S. solar power capacity has grown to an estimated 97.2 gigawatts (“GW”) today, enough to power 18 million average American homes. The growth has coincided with a significant reduction in solar component charges; since 2014, the average cost of solar PV panels alone has dropped by nearly 70% (https://ibn.fm/KcIfZ). Nonetheless, the potential for solar energy within the United States remains relatively untapped. For instance, PV panels on just 22,000 square miles of the nation’s total land area – about the size of Lake Michigan – could supply enough electricity to power the entire United States (https://ibn.fm/DZgJm).
That paradigm has begun to shift now. In the first quarter of 2022, the United States installed 3.9 gigawatts of solar PV capacity, equivalent to 50 percent of all new electricity-generating capacity added within the United States over the three-month period. GeoSolar Technologies are now looking to further that trend, both in terms of reducing their clients’ carbon emissions whilst contributing to reducing their utility bill outlays. As Marilyn Lopez, Partner and Co-Founder of TAG Collective, a company currently overseeing GST’s company’s marketing efforts for its upcoming Reg A+ offering remarked on GeoSolar Technologies’ prowess and capabilities. “There may not be a company in the climate technology industry that is doing more in the battle against rising global temperatures.”
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.GeoSolarPlus.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to GeoSolar Technologies are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/GST
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