Three federal programs do most of the work on a commercial project: a USDA grant for rural and agricultural sites, a federal investment tax credit, and accelerated depreciation. They stack, but the order matters — and the terms change.
The Rural Energy for America Program offers grants and guaranteed loans toward renewable energy systems for agricultural producers and rural small businesses. It is competitive, scored and awarded before you build.
Grants and guaranteed loans for agricultural producers and rural small businesses
Competitive and scored against other applicants, never automatic
Construction generally must not begin before the award is made
Learn more →
A federal investment tax credit on eligible project cost
The federal investment tax credit reduces tax owed rather than income taxed, which makes it far more valuable than a deduction — and worthless to an entity with no liability. Here is how the structure works.
A credit against tax owed, not a deduction against income taxed
Base rate plus a much larger rate for projects meeting wage and apprenticeship rules
Possible adders for domestic content and certain project locations
Section 179 expensing, bonus depreciation and MACRS are three separate mechanisms that most business owners treat as one. The difference between them decides how much of a solar array you write off, and when.
Section 179 expensing, bonus depreciation and MACRS are three different rules
Section 179 has an annual dollar cap and a taxable-income limit; bonus depreciation does not
Solar property has historically used a 5-year MACRS class life
Learn more →
Put numbers on it
See what the incentives do to your payback
The savings calculator applies the federal investment tax credit to an estimated system cost and returns a payback range for your state and business type.
Applications are scored and competitive, and the technical report has to be right. We prepare the system design and documentation your application needs — the grant itself remains yours to procure and validate.
