How to Get Renewable Energy from Your Power Company
Did you know that you can get renewable energy very easily? You don’t have to build a new home or remodel your existing home to do it. You don’t even have to install solar panels or solar powered water heaters. You don’t need any of that, although those things may be investments you may want to consider. Not only do renewable resources do a lot for the environment, but they also do a lot for your wallet in the form of tax incentives and savings over time.So how can you get renewable energy so easily? Well, you can get it through your power company. All you have to do is pick up the phone and call them.

Believe it or not, there are major power companies around the country who already have renewable resources. They just aren’t pumping them through your power lines. They are still pushing through electricity that is created from fossil fuels. So why aren’t they using the renewable energy that they have? Well, they are working on making their systems bigger. It is also a cost thing. Renewable energy costs them more, so it will also cost you a little more. The difference isn’t much, though.

For instance, your power company may generate renewable energy with wind power or hydro power. They can generate a never ending supply of electricity. All you have to do is let them know that you want it. If you tell them that you want it and that you understand that it may cost you a little bit more, they will start sending renewable energy to you. If more and more people do this, the power companies can expand their operations and provide renewable energy to everyone. It is important to understand that hydropower and wind power electricity keeps going and going. There is no worry that one day there will be no fossil fuels to power up our homes.
So check to see what sort of renewable energy your power company is offering so that you can get in on it. And keep in mind that there are tax incentives for this that you can take advantage of. You also need to take into consideration that the cost of renewable electricity will decrease over time. In the next 5 years, the cost is expected to decline to rates that are similar or lower than what you are paying now.

Here are the items that you can invest in and receive a tax break:
· Solar water heaters
· Photovoltaics
· Wind generators
· Fuel cells
· Geothermal heat pumps
· Anything else that implements solar electricity

The standard allowance on your tax return for renewable energy is 30 percent of the cost. There is a cap on some incentives if the renewable energy devices or the renewable energy source was acquired before January 1st, 2009. There is no maximum incentive if the renewable energy component or source was acquired after January 1st. You may find, however, that the deduction caps vary.

They are as follows:
· Solar water heaters, solar electric systems, and geothermal heat pumps are capped at two thousand dollars.
· Wind turbines with a 2008 installation date are capped at four thousand dollars.
· Fuel cells have a cap of five hundred dollars.

It is also important to keep in mind that any credit that is gained from the incentives can be carried over into the next tax year. This means you aren’t just benefiting in one tax season. You can benefit for multiple tax seasons, further offsetting the cost.

So if saving the environment through reduced energy use is not enough of an incentive, you now have monetary incentives to get you on the road to saving the world. These incentives help you offset the costs of making the world a better place. If more and more people realize these incentives, then more people may start installing devices and investing in renewable energy. If everyone would invest in renewable energy in some way, the amount of fossil fuels being used would reduce dramatically in a short span of time.