Golden Solar

Recent installation of two Tesla powerwall 3’s with a service upgrade 🌞🔋

2 gallons of pear juice from Golden Solar’s pear trees and 1 gallon of tart cherry juice from Heinies Market, with added sugar and some cinnamon. We’ll find out how it comes out in a couple weeks!

Colorado and REAP grants may grant up to 80% of install costs for agricultural solar, see our blog post at https://vlnk.io/432tYb9

Be ready for the sunny weather! Call today (303) 955-6332 to see how you can save on your energy bill.

REAP and CDA Solar Grants for Farmers and Ranchers in Colorado

Golden Solar has gotten grants for solar panel installations for its agricultural producer customers for up to 50% of the cost of a solar electric system. These grants, combined with the federal tax credit which will be 26% through the end of 2022 for solar can cover 3/4 of the cost of going solar. There is a federal grant through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and Colorado currently offers an additional grant for solar through the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) ACRE3 program. Both grants are competitive and require quite a bit of paperwork but worth the effort (especially if you get me to do most of the paperwork for you).

The USDA REAP grant is typically for 25% of the project cost. There are more than a dozen forms that need to be completed so we need to know a few weeks before the twice per year deadlines that you want a quote and are prepared to move ahead if we get the grant. Plus there are several more forms to complete after the grant is awarded. I can do most of the paperwork for you.

REAP Applicants do have to provide their last 3 years of tax returns to prove that more than half of their gross income comes from sale of agricultural products. Many agricultural producers can be in negative taxable income territory after all expenses and might even work other non-agricultural jobs to make ends meet. But because the calculation is based upon gross income virtually every farmer and rancher who sells agricultural products will qualify for the grants.

The Colorado ACRE3 (https://ag.colorado.gov/conservation/acre3) grant application is based upon similar forms and qualifications as the REAP grant applications. CDA ACRE3 grants are typically for 25% of the project costs as well.

An encouraging new development is that the grants can be used for solar put at the homes of farmers and ranchers who use electricity at their homes for agricultural production. Older rules for REAP grants were that all the electricity on a meter or account had to be used for agriculture. That restricted the grants to use only on separate operations away from the home or on separate electric meters. But it is so common for ranchers and farmers to have business operations using some or even most of the electricity at their homes for agriculture that USDA decided to allow REAP grants for producers homes where farmers and ranchers also have such things as shops, equipment storage and maintenance, watering of animals and stock tank heaters. There are formulae for estimating the proportions of electricity used for personal and family needs and for agricultural operations. The Federal and State grants are available only for the proportion of the electricity that is used for agricultural operations, but it is not unusual that agricultural operations to take 70-80% of all the electricity used at a producer's home.

There are also Federal tax credits for 26% of the cost of any solar electric system. These can be claimed on the whole cost of the system, including any portion for personal use. (They are actually two separate tax credits for residential and business both at 26%.) Any amounts not used the first year can be carried over and used like a coupon to pay federal income taxes in future years. In order to get the tax credits on the whole project costs it is probably necessary to declare the REAP and CDA grants as income, but check with your tax advisor about that. The cost of solar panel installations used for business operations is typically depreciable over 5 years as well, including depreciating half the value of the tax credit.

Please contact us about your particular situation and interest in solar panels for your farm or ranch.

Don Parker
303-955-6332
[email protected]