Solar Guide

The SC Solar Energy Credit is a state tax credit that helps South Carolina homeowners save money when they install solar panels or other qualifying renewable energy systems. This incentive allows you to claim a credit equal to 25% of your total purchase and installation costs against your state income taxes.

The financial benefit is substantial but capped – you can receive up to $3,500 maximum per installation, or 50% of your tax liability for the year, whichever is less. If your credit amount exceeds $3,500, you can carry the excess forward for up to 10 years. To qualify, your solar system must be installed on property you own in South Carolina and must be certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation or a comparable entity endorsed by the State Energy Office. You cannot claim the credit until your system installation is completely finished.

Important considerations include that this credit applies to the full system including controls, tanks, pumps, and heat exchangers, but excludes structural elements like roofs and walls. You’ll need to file Form TC-38 to claim this credit. The program also covers small hydropower systems and geothermal equipment, though the geothermal portion expired on January 1, 2022.

South Carolina’s Property Tax Exemption program provides complete property tax relief for eligible homeowners who meet specific criteria related to military service, disability, or public service. This state tax exemption eliminates 100% of property taxes on qualifying homes and up to one acre of land, potentially saving homeowners thousands of dollars annually depending on their property’s assessed value and local tax rates.

To qualify, you must be a totally and permanently disabled veteran with a service-connected disability, a disabled former law enforcement officer or firefighter injured in the line of duty in South Carolina, a paraplegic or hemiplegic person (including those with Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, or ALS causing similar mobility issues), or a Medal of Honor recipient or former Prisoner of War. The home must be your primary residence, and you must own it solely or jointly with a spouse. Surviving spouses may also qualify under certain conditions if they remain unmarried and continue living in the home.

Applications must be submitted within two years of when taxes were paid if seeking refunds for previous years. You’ll need to provide specific documentation including medical certifications, VA certificates, recorded deeds, and proof of owner-occupied status from your county assessor. The program also offers vehicle exemptions for qualifying individuals, allowing up to two vehicles to be exempt from personal property taxes.

Santee Cooper’s EmpowerSolar program is a utility rebate program that helps residential customers in South Carolina install solar panels on their homes. The program provides financial incentives to offset the upfront costs of solar installation while allowing homeowners to reduce their monthly electric bills by generating their own clean energy.

The program offers a rebate of $950 per kilowatt (kW) of installed solar capacity, with a maximum rebate of $5,700 per home. Santee Cooper also provides on-bill financing through their Smart Energy Loan Program for up to $40,000 for qualifying customers. However, participants must pay a monthly Distributed Generation fee of $10, which covers fixed grid costs that solar customers continue to use when their panels aren’t producing enough energy.

To be eligible, homeowners must use a Santee Cooper Trade Ally contractor for installation, as only systems installed by these qualified contractors are eligible for rebates. The rebate application process is handled through the chosen Trade Ally, and homeowners should expect 6-8 weeks for rebate delivery after final system approval and meter installation. Santee Cooper uses a bidirectional smart meter to track energy sold back to the grid, but homeowners need to monitor their system’s total production through their inverter’s online monitoring system.

Net metering in South Carolina allows homeowners with solar panels to receive credit for the excess electricity they send back to the power grid. When your solar system produces more energy than your home uses, that extra power flows to the grid and you receive credits on your electric bill. These credits can then offset the electricity you use when your solar panels aren’t producing enough power, like at night or on cloudy days.

The financial benefits vary significantly depending on your utility company. Some utilities like Dominion Energy offer true 1:1 net metering, meaning you get full retail credit for excess power. Others like Duke Energy require time-of-use rates and credit excess generation at lower rates of 2.6-4 cents per kWh. Export credit programs from cooperatives like Berkeley Electric pay around 5.9 cents per kWh for all power sent to the grid, while others like Santee Cooper pay 3.8-4.2 cents per kWh for monthly net excess.

Most South Carolina utilities require solar customers to be on specific rate schedules, often time-of-use rates that charge different amounts based on when you use electricity. Some utilities like Duke Energy also impose minimum monthly bills around $30. It’s important to note that Duke Energy ended their 1:1 net metering program in June 2021, and credits now settle monthly rather than annually. Each utility has different rules for how long credits can carry forward, with some allowing month-to-month rollover and others doing annual true-ups where excess credits are paid out at lower rates.