By: Sheryl Swingley—
Muncie, IN—Solarize Indiana, a grassroots community group, will sponsor informational meetings during September to tell area residents and business owners how they can add solar panels on their houses or businesses to offset their electric bills.
The first informational meeting will be at Yorktown United Methodist Church, 2301 S. Broadway St., at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19.
The second meeting will be at 7:15 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, at the Ball State University in the College of Architecture at North McKinley and West Neely avenues, Room 100. Free parking will be available in Ball State restricted red parking lots near and next to the College of Architecture beginning at 7 p.m.
The meeting will be co-sponsored by Emerging Green Builders, a student organization for Ball State architecture students.
The 30% federal tax credit for installing solar is still in effect in 2019, declining to 26% in 2020, 22% in 2021. Starting in 2022, there will not longer be a federal tax credit. Those with an investor-owned utility also will have net metering until mid-year 2032 if their system is installed before the end of June 2022. A third benefit of installing solar though Solarize Indiana is group pricing.
In addition, adding solar does not affect the assessed value of a structure and will not increase the owner’s property taxes. The addition of solar has the potential to increase property value.
Evaluations for solar installations are free, and there are no payments or any obligation until a contract is signed with the installer.
More than 45 house installations have taken place in the Muncie area in connection with this grassroots effort, which began in late 2017.
For more information, contact Carolyn Vann at cvann@bsu.eduor send an email to solarizeECI@gmail.com.
