The Not-So-Free Market at Work

In the mail, I recently received a brochure from a firm called Solar Solution LLC, claiming to be the District of Columbia’s #1 solar installer. Included was the following table showing the initial estimated cost and then, in subsequent columns, the multiple layers of subsidies one might obtain. These include the 30 percent federal tax credit, the D.C. solar grant, and the Solar Renewable Energy Credit.

The effects are significant – a system initially estimated at $29,400 translates into an out-of-pocket cost of only $6,300. Clearly, Solar Solution is doing a brisk business with their current business plan. Given their success, they may be tempted to branch out to other services. The list of technologies that would become commercially successful with a 79 percent taxpayer discount is long indeed.