Financing an Energy-Efficient Home
This fact sheet from the Department of Energy features an overview of energy-efficient financing programs from mortgages to home improvement loans.U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Energy-Efficient Mortgage Program
The Energy-Efficient Mortgage Program is one of many Federal Housing Authority programs that insure mortgage loans to encourage lenders to make mortgage credit available to borrowers, such as first-time homebuyers, who would not otherwise qualify for conventional loans on affordable terms.Energy Ratings and Mortgages
Energy efficient homes may qualify for mortgages that take into account a home's efficiency. Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) provides information on home energy rating systems, energy efficient mortgages, and finding certified energy raters and lenders who know how to process energy efficiency mortgages.Refinancing for Energy-Efficiency Improvements
An overview of refinancing to make energy efficiency improvements, from the Alliance to Save Energy.
2.19.2011
Energy-Efficient Mortgages and Financing
The following Web sites offer information on energy-efficient financing programs, including mortgages, home improvement loans, refinancing, and home energy ratings.
Green Products Eligible for Tax Credits Through 2016
If you purchase an energy-efficient product or renewable energy system for your home, you may be eligible for a federal tax credit.
Below you will find an overview of the federal tax credits for energy efficiency that are still available.
Some energy efficiency tax credits were also available in 2009 and 2010. These can still be claimed on your 2010 taxes. Learn more about the tax credits that expired at the end of 2010.
NOTE: The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 included changes to home energy efficiency tax credits, beginning after December 31, 2010. This page will be updated with more information; please check back.
How to Claim Your Tax Credit
- Note: Tax forms for the 2010 tax year may not yet be available. Visit the IRS Web site to obtain the latest forms.
- Claim improvements made in 2010 on your 2010 taxes, filed by April 15, 2011.
- Use the 2010 version of the following forms:
- For renewable and efficiency credits: IRS Form 5695.
- For alternative motor vehicle credits: IRS Form 8910. Also download instructions for form 8910.
- For qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle credits: IRS Form 8936
- Save your receipts and the Manufacturer Certification Statement for your records.
- For 2009 taxes, visit the IRS Web site to obtain the 2009 version of these forms.
Products Eligible for Tax Credits Through 2016
Tax credits for these products are available at 30% of the cost, with no upper limit, through 2016 (Select "See Details" for more information on each product, or see the printable version).Geothermal Heat Pump
Credit: Bruce Green
Credit: 30% of cost, with no upper limit
When and Where:
- Must be "placed in service" by Dec. 31, 2016
- Available on principal home or second home.
- New and existing homes
Solar Energy Systems
Credit: Cheryl Unger
Credit: 30% of cost, with no upper limit
When and Where:
- Must be "placed in service" by Dec. 31, 2016
- Available on principal home or second home.
- New and existing homes
Wind Energy Systems
Credit: Bergey WindPower
Credit: 30% of cost, with no upper limit
When and Where:
- Must be "placed in service" by Dec. 31, 2016
- Available on principal home or second home.
- New and existing homes
Fuel Cells
Credit: Capstone Turbine Corporation
Credit: 30% of cost, up to $500 per .5 kW of power capacity
When and Where:
- Must be "placed in service" by Dec. 31, 2016
- Primary residence
- New and existing homes
Vehicle Tax Credits
Tax credits are also available for some vehicles (Select "See Details" for more information on each product, or see the printable version).Vehicles
Credit: ©iStockphoto.com
Credit: Varies, see below.
When:
- See below; credits phased-out after certain number of vehicles are sold.
See details
Product Requirements More Information Hybrids, battery-powered, plug-in electric, advanced lean burn, fuel cell, or alternative fuel vehicles Credit is based on a formula determined by vehicle weight, technology, and fuel economy compared to base year models. There is a 60,000 vehicle limit per manufacturer before a phase-out period begins. See Fueleconomy.gov to find out which vehicles are still eligible.
Use IRS Form 8910 (PDF 86 KB) for vehicles purchased for personal use. Use IRS Form 3800 (PDF 144 KB
Also see credits for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property.Plug-in Electric Vehicles Credit: $2,500-$7,500, based on capacity of the battery system. The first 200,000 vehicles sold get the full tax credit before the credit begins phasing out. Use IRS Form 8936 (PDF 78 KB
See the IRS information on the Plug-in Electric Vehicle Credit.
You May Be Eligible for Additional Incentives
The tax credits listed here are federal tax credits.These can be combined with other state, local, and utility incentives.
- Visit the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency to find out if you are eligible for other incentives.
- If you are purchasing appliances, learn about the state rebates for ENERGY STAR appliances.
Related Links
- Tax Incentives Assistance Project
- ENERGY STAR Summary of Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency
- IRS Audio Podcast on Home Energy Tax Credits. Download Windows Media Player or iTunes.
- English (MP3 3.1 MB) text version
- Espanol (MP3 3.6 MB) text version
- IRS Notice 2009-53 Interim guidance for Section 25C: Nonbusiness Energy Property
- IRS Notice 2009-41 Interim guidance for Section 25D: Credit for Residential Energy Efficient Property
2.18.2011
True Figures Dirty Coals Costs in Environmental and Public Health
Study Shows the True Costs of Dirty Coal at $250 Billion Dollars - Hidden Cost Add Millions More-
Fully accounting for coal's costs in environmental and public health damage would triple the cost of coal-generated electricity and make less-polluting fuels more competitive, according to a new study by Harvard University researchers.
The study, by the Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment, is scheduled to be published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Researchers tried to take a broader look at the full cost of coal, following its life cycle from mining and processing, to transportation and burning. They estimated that coal is costing the U.S. between $174 billion and $523 billion a year.
"Coal carries a heavy burden," the researchers said in a summary of their detailed publication.
"Energy is essential to our daily lives, and for the past century and a half we have depended on fossil fuels to produce it," they said. "But, from extraction to combustion, coal, oil and natural gas have:
The researchers put their "best" estimates of costs from coal's annual air pollution at $188 billion and costs from its contributions to global warming at $62 billion ($250 Billion Dollars Combined).
Researchers also examined deaths from coal-mining accidents and $74 billion a year in early deaths that other studies by West Virginia University have said appear to be linked to pollution from coal-mining sites. They also looked at economic subsidies for coal, deaths from coal-hauling railroad accidents, and a host of other impacts.
The study was funded in part by the Rockefeller Family Foundation, and was being promoted by a news release issued by the group Greenpeace.
"The public is unfairly paying for the impacts of coal use," said Dr. Paul Epstein, associated director of the Harvard center.
"Accounting for these 'hidden costs' doubles to triples the price of electricity from coal per kWh, making wind, solar, and other renewable very economically competitive," Epstein said. "Policy-makers need to evaluate current energy options with these types of impacts in mind. Our reliance on fossil fuels is proving costly for society, negatively impacting our wallets and our quality of life."
CHARLESTON, W.Va. --Harvard study details coal's true costs by:Ken Ward Jr.
Feb. 17, 2011 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex)
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kward@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.
Newstex ID: KRTB-0226-100781549
Fully accounting for coal's costs in environmental and public health damage would triple the cost of coal-generated electricity and make less-polluting fuels more competitive, according to a new study by Harvard University researchers.
The study, by the Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment, is scheduled to be published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Researchers tried to take a broader look at the full cost of coal, following its life cycle from mining and processing, to transportation and burning. They estimated that coal is costing the U.S. between $174 billion and $523 billion a year.
"Coal carries a heavy burden," the researchers said in a summary of their detailed publication.
"Energy is essential to our daily lives, and for the past century and a half we have depended on fossil fuels to produce it," they said. "But, from extraction to combustion, coal, oil and natural gas have:
- multiple health,
- environmental and
- economic impacts
The researchers put their "best" estimates of costs from coal's annual air pollution at $188 billion and costs from its contributions to global warming at $62 billion ($250 Billion Dollars Combined).
Researchers also examined deaths from coal-mining accidents and $74 billion a year in early deaths that other studies by West Virginia University have said appear to be linked to pollution from coal-mining sites. They also looked at economic subsidies for coal, deaths from coal-hauling railroad accidents, and a host of other impacts.
The study was funded in part by the Rockefeller Family Foundation, and was being promoted by a news release issued by the group Greenpeace.
"The public is unfairly paying for the impacts of coal use," said Dr. Paul Epstein, associated director of the Harvard center.
"Accounting for these 'hidden costs' doubles to triples the price of electricity from coal per kWh, making wind, solar, and other renewable very economically competitive," Epstein said. "Policy-makers need to evaluate current energy options with these types of impacts in mind. Our reliance on fossil fuels is proving costly for society, negatively impacting our wallets and our quality of life."
CHARLESTON, W.Va. --Harvard study details coal's true costs by:Ken Ward Jr.
Feb. 17, 2011 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex)
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kward@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.
Newstex ID: KRTB-0226-100781549
Big Energy-Environmental Issues-House to Vote Friday
Some of the biggest energy and environmental policy votes in years are set for Friday – or Saturday – on the House floor.
Votes expected include amendments to the continuing resolution on: EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions; offshore oil and gas drilling permits; mountaintop mining removal; and expanding the use of ethanol in gasoline.
The headliner in the time agreement reached late Thursday night is an amendment from Texas Republicans:
- Ted Poe
- Joe Barton
- John Carter
The Texas trio’s amendment appears to block funding for any EPA regulation of GHGs(Green House Gas Emissions) from stationary sources for the duration of the seven-month spending bill, while the existing language in the legislation bars such rules only if they are being regulated for their climate effects, according to a Clean Air Act attorney.
None of the Democratic measures that would strike the language in the spending bill that blocks federal funding for EPA’s climate greenhouse gas regulations were included.
There's three big amendments on offshore drilling:
• Louisiana Republican Steve Scalise has one blocking federal funds “to further delay the approval” of offshore energy plans in federal waters, the latest volley in an escalating fight between federal regulators and oil-state lawmakers in both parties following last year's BP spill.
• Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) will offer an amendment that blocks funding for any new leases being granted to companies that own ones that are not subject to royalty relief limits. Markey has long fought to address Interior’s Gulf leases from the late 1990s that mistakenly omitted market-based price limits for the granting of royalty relief, which is meant to suspend such payments when oil prices are high.
• Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) has one blocking federal funds for the rejecting of permits in federal Arctic coastal waters.
On ethanol, Republicans John Sullivan and Jeff Flake will get their chance to cut federal goodies for the ethanol industry. Sullivan’s amendment strips funding for implementation of EPA’s recent decisions to allow the use of E15 in passenger cars and trucks for model year 2001 and up.
Flake’s amendment would block funding for installing blender pumps at gas stations that would be used to carry ethanol-blended fuels.
Other major amendments that will come up Friday:
• Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) blocking funds to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
• Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) blocking funds for implementation of new EPA water-quality guidelines for mountaintop mining that toughened the issuance of permits in six Appalachian states.
• Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) blocking legal funds used to enforce the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act as well as funding for an Interior Department climate change adaptation initiative.
House sets up big energy votes
by Darren Goode,Josh-Politico
2.17.2011
Call on Congress to End Oil Subsidies
On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 10:42 AM, Steve Kretzmann, Oil Change International <info@priceofoil.org> wrote:
Stay on top of the news and our campaigns to help build this movement to end dirty fossil fuel subsidies!
•Dear Scotts,
The President's budget proposes to cut more than $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies to the oil industry.
We need your help to convince Congress to make these cuts.
It won't be easy. Over the last two years, Congress received more than $12 million from the oil industry. And for every $1 that Big Oil invests in campaign contributions to Congress, they get a payback of at least $332 in the form of subsidies.
That's an unbelievable bargain. It's no wonder that Big Oil and their allies in Congress are doing everything they can to keep those subsidies. But it's not their money, after all, it's yours.
To make matters worse, these are the same politicians who say we need to stop spending and balance the budget. It's time for them to stop talking out of both sides of their mouths. It's time to pay back the American people, not the oil industry.
Please send a letter to your representatives in Congress to demand that our government stop supporting Big Oil and Coal.
The oil industry wants you to ignore the way they buy your government, remain ignorant of their massive profits, overlook your pain at the pump, and forget about the environmental consequences caused by this dirty industry.
But we won't forget, and neither will you. It's time to take action to eliminate the billions of taxpayers' dollars going into the pockets of Big Oil.
That's what Oil Change International is fighting for and here is how you can help: Tell your Senators and Representatives to stop using your tax dollars to support this dirty industry.
It's time for some payback of our own, as we remind Congress who they should be working for.
Yours,
Steve, Traci, Elizabeth, and Lorne – the staff at Oil Change International
Oil Change International campaigns to expose the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitate the coming transition towards clean energy. We are dedicated to identifying and overcoming barriers to that transition.
We are a 501c3 organization and all donations are fully tax deductible.
Check out our blog at PriceOfOil.org and find out how much oil and coal money your Representatives take at DirtyEnergyMoney.com.
--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com
Re: URGENT ALERT: House Could Vote Today to Gut Clean Air Funding
--On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 10:28 AM, Environmental Defense Action Fund <takeaction@edf.org> wrote:
Having trouble using links or viewing images? View the web version.
*** URGENT ALERT *** URGENT ALERT *** URGENT ALERT ***
Dear Scotts,
The U.S. House of Representatives could start voting as early as today on polluter earmarks to gut critical funding for America's landmark clean air programs that save lives and grow our economy.
We're near our goal of 25,000 actions. Please help us surge past it in the next couple of hours before the House votes.
More Information
Of all the laws ever passed in American history, few have been more successful than the Clean Air Act. It has done more good more efficiently than even the people who wrote the law ever imagined.
The data speak for themselves. Among many other accomplishments, the Clean Air Act has:
- Saved 160,000 lives in 2010 and has easily saved millions of lives over the last 40 years;
- Provided $30 in total economic benefits for every $1 invested in pollution controls;
- Decreased the level of airborne lead level 92% since 1980; and
- Cut acid rain pollution by more than 63%.
And all of this has been achieved at a fraction of the cost that even the most optimistic clean air supporters thought possible when the law went into effect in 1970 and was reauthorized in 1990.
But, polluter allies in Congress are turning a blind eye to these overwhelmingly positive public health and economic benefits. They are threatening to hold the government hostage in order to pass their "polluter earmarks" that would defund our clean air programs.
This is not the way common sense government is supposed to be run. We can't let them get away with this outrageous and short-sighted assault on our clean air.
Please email your member of Congress and urge him or her to oppose this pro-polluter agenda.
Thanks for your action and support,
Environmental Defense Action FundP.S. There are many new and swing members of Congress on this issue. We need to make sure they know they can't side with polluters without paying a political price. So, please make sure to take action today.
Environmental Defense Action Fund
1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20009
1-800-684-3322
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com
Obamas Budget-What do you think?
On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 11:43 AM, Mitch Stewart, BarackObama.com <info@barackobama.com> wrote:
Friend --
This week, the President sent his budget to Congress.
It's a plan to rebuild our economy and win the future -- a plan that will prepare our country and our children for the jobs and industries of tomorrow.
It's a proposal to live within our means so we can invest in our future.
But the budget can be complex, confusing, and easy to distort in a partisan environment. President Obama will rely on our help -- the on-the-ground organizing we know works -- to make the case alongside him.
That's why we want your input.
Take a minute to learn about the President's top budget priorities, and then let us know which is the most important to you.
Your feedback will help guide the work we do and the strategies we employ in the coming months, as the fights in Washington over the budget come to a head.
The President's vision is ambitious yet responsible. While making the tough decisions on some things we can't afford, the budget also makes targeted investments where we need them to create jobs and secure a brighter future for new generations.
It comes down to whether we're able to live up to the vision the President laid out in five pillars:
-- Innovate: Invest heavily in research and development, more than double funding for energy efficiency advances, and put 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.
-- Educate: Expand the Race to the Top program, encourage school funding reform by rewarding success and innovation, train 100,000 new math and science teachers, and make it more affordable for millions more students to pay for college.
-- Build: Create hundreds of thousands of jobs off the bat with investments in infrastructure, bring high-speed Internet access to 98 percent of Americans, and support the goal of supplying high-speed rail to 80 percent of Americans within 25 years.
-- Be fiscally responsible: Reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years, bring non-security discretionary spending to the lowest levels since Eisenhower, and live up to the President's pledge to cut the deficit he inherited in half before the end of his first term.
-- Reform government: Embrace competitive grant models that encourage innovation and save taxpayer dollars, cut administrative overhead costs by billions, and establish a process to reorganize government to make it better serve the goal of a competitive America.
Whether we can out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world depends on the direction this country takes right now.
And each of us is a critical messenger for this administration.
When we talk to friends and family, when we knock on our neighbors' doors, and when we discuss the news with coworkers, we communicate so much more than any talking head or political ad ever could.
We'll be the ones making the case in our communities. So weigh in on what part of the President's vision you want to see take priority:
http://my.barackobama.com/BudgetPriorities
Thanks,
Mitch
Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for AmericaThis email was sent to: scottscontracting@gmail.com
--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com
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