A Good Reason to use Solar Panels in Nigeria
Unlike conventional power, solar produces no harmful emissions that hurt the environment. It’s a clean, renewable process that uses the most natural of all resources: the sun. Even the energy used to produce the PV cells is paid back soon after. In the modern world, where everyone wants energy resources, solar panels are an ideal source of clean energy. With so many researches currently ongoing to find a sustainable use of our energy resources, solar energy is your only option to get an unlimited source of clean energy. Solar energy is the power provided by the sun, harnessed through technology called photovoltaic (PV) cells, which turn sunlight directly into electricity. For a layman’s description of the “photovoltaic effect,” when sunshine hits the PV cell, the photons of light excite the electrons in the cell, causing them to flow and generate electricity. Homeowners around the country, and cities around the world, are installing solar panel systems on their roofs to take advantage of this clean, renewable way to generate power.
To encourage Nigerian citizens to start using solar panels, the government should be willing to offer solar incentives which have shown some promising outcomes till now.In this article, we are going to discuss how solar incentive is a good reason to switch to solar panels in the Nigeria and Africa at large. It will be an interesting read if you really want to save other energy resources from extinction.
The Solar Incentives
The Current time demands you take renewable energy resources seriously or else sooner we all will be out of energy resources. That is the major reason for the Nigerian government should be looking towards offering solar incentives to all the individuals or businesses who decide to use solar energy.
The approach is simple; they will cut your investment so that you can easily install photovoltaic panels. It will be one of the most appreciated initiatives of the Nigerian Government.
The Federal Solar Tax Credit
You can consider it as an investment tax credit which allows you to pay off your annual IRS bills by using 30% of your solar installation cost. If you are a homeowner, then you have the opportunity to claim a maximum credit of 30% (If you’re a homeowner) on the installation of the solar panel. This credit includes the following costs:
- Perp Works
- Supplies
- Roof Repairs
- Labor costs
It will give you the liberty to save thousands of naira in a single financial year. With the increasing popularity of solar energy, the Federal government might pull this deal off anytime. So, you might want to grab this window of opportunity while you can.
How To Claim Solar Tax Credit
If you’re looking to claim Solar Tax Credit (also known as Investment Tax Credit), then it’s quite simple. Firstly, you must assure that you get qualified for the credit. Till the time you have solar panels, you can avail the credit. In this situation, when the time comes to pay tax, credit must be claimed through step-by-step instructions.
The Net Metering Program
So this is how this works yeah! You know Solar panels generate a great deal of electricity in the daytime. The system sends excessive electricity to the grid by giving to the public utility company for the use. Hence, the energy meter ticks backward.
At night, more electricity is consumed than solar panels produce. The system begins to pull the electricity from the grid without any interruption. In such a situation, the meter will tick forward. If you buy the correct size solar array, then excessive electricity that gets back to the grid in the day is equivalent to the amount during high usage in the evening. Net metering will enable you to never pay an electricity bill again. It is one of the best innovations in environmental tax incentives.
This program enables you to sell excessive solar electricity at credits, not on the cash basis. With this special incentive, you can get negative electricity bills or 0 naira every month. It helps to speed up the payback period of a solar PV system. This eliminates the need to buy battery storage for the solar installation.
4 irresistible reasons to go solar
-
- It is a solid home investment : It’s fair to say that many of the home improvements that you will make won’t add quite the equal value to your house as the money that you put into them. Solar energy, on the other hand, will save you money from your energy bill each month. In addition, the investment that you make in solar, will add its exact property value–or more–to your home, should you decide to sell it later on.
- Solar energy systems are durable : Solar panels have no moving parts, and so are not damaged easily. This lowers the chance for an interruption in service.
All solar panels are exhaustively tested to ensure that they can withstand high winds and extreme weather conditions, such as hail and heavy snowfall. Every solar panel used by skilled installers such as 1st Light is guaranteed to be as strong or stronger than your roof itself.
Even if something should occur that damages your solar panels, most systems come with a 30 year warranty guaranteed by the original installer, that covers serious damage to the panels. - Solar can actually make you money!! : Some states, the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requires electricity suppliers to secure a portion of their electricity from solar generators. Rather than investing in systems of their own, in applicable states this has resulted in what is called an SREC market. Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC) are created for every megawatt-hour of solar electricity created. So if your system is consistently generating more energy than you are consuming, you have the opportunity to sell that energy back at a premium.Every state’s program is different, with the value of an SREC determined by the market and subject to supply and demand constraints.
- It is Good for the environment : Unlike conventional power, solar produces no harmful emissions that hurt the environment. It’s a clean, renewable process that uses the most natural of all resources: the sun.
Even the energy used to produce the PV cells is paid back soon after. Depending on the type, Energy Pay-Back Time (EPBT) for PV and CPV systems is estimated to be between 0.5 and 1.4 years. After that point, it’s all renewable, all the time.
