ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on state tax incentives for renewable energy equipment purchase. It reviews the status of these incentives, presents the findings of evaluation studies, and discusses the arguments for and against maintaining them in the future. The energy crises of the 1970s gave rise to a flurry of state initiatives to stimulate renewable energy development and use. The chapter analyzes the effectiveness of state solar tax incentives using the 1980 and 1981 Active Solar Installation Surveys published by the US Department of Energy. The value of the state tax incentives was also calculated differently. S. W. Sawyer and R. M. Wirtshafter offer alternative explanations for their inconclusive results. The chapter focuses on two issues: the degree to which tax incentives influence purchase decisions, and the net state revenue impact of the tax losses and gains stimulated by the incentives.
