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The USDA has agricultural grants for farms that
receive 50% of their income from agriculture and for
businesses that are located in rural areas (rural
meaning a city, village, or township with 52,000 or
fewer people in it... ie: most all of west Michigan,
even including all of Muskegon)*. Grants can
reimburse up to 25% of eligible project costs.
Minimum awards of $2,500 and maximum awards
of $500,000 for renewable energy projects are
available. These grants are approved
pre-installation, but awarded once installation is
complete. Application deadlines vary
throughout the year and award dates also may
vary. The current deadline for applications is
July 31, 2010.
Information required by
the customer to start the Grant Writing Process:
- Social Security Number, Farm Tax ID,
or EIN (federal ID number)
- Duns # - Assigned by Duns &
Bradstreet, if one is available.
- Type of Business - ie Proprietorship,
partnership, LLC, S Corp, C
Corp
- Copies of the last three years Tax
Returns
- Electric bill with annual usage, or the
previous 12 monthly electric bills
- Proof of property ownership - Copy of
Lease, Title or Deed
- Legal Description of property, usually from
property tax bill.
- Funding sources for Project - Letter
of commitment from bank or if self
financed.
- Description of business operations
- Description of business ownership
- NAICS code (North American Industry
Classification System); usually a copy of last year's tax return
will provide the necessary
information. As a tax preparer since
1984 and a member of the National Association of
Tax Preparers, confidentiality is guaranteed and
a thorough understanding of the tax code is a
part of the process. As a licensed
builder, a tax preparer, and a trained installer
of renewable energy; you would be hard pressed
to find this kind of experience with anyone
else.
Shelby Solar and Wind can assist in writing the
grant, a small fee is applicable. (Depending
on the size of the application, fees can range from
$300 to $900)
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The IRS is offering a 30% federal income tax
credit on all completed installations for the next 6
years (provided the rules do not change)*. An
examination of your previous tax returns should
provide information as to whether this would be
beneficial to you.
The State of Michigan is offering $1,200 rebates on
Solar Hot Water systems. There are also
smaller rebates available for energy efficient
appliances. Information on these rebates can
be found at http://www.michigan.gov/dleg/0,1607,7-154-25676-217575--,00.html
Consumers Energy and Detroit Edison (among
others) have pilot programs that allow for the
selling of Solar Energy Credits to them*. These
companies need to produce renewable energy in great
quantities in the very near future and they can alleviate
some of this burden by purchasing credits from
you. A Solar installation can expect to
receive monthly or yearly checks for the energy they
produce if you participate in these pilot
programs. At this point wind turbines do not
qualify. The primary reasoning for this is
that it can be estimated with a high percentage of
accuracy what a solar installation can produce over
the next 20 years, whereas a wind turbines'
production is somewhat less predictable.
There are also guaranteed loans and other
financing options available, please contact Shelby
Solar and Wind for more information. In
addition, both the tax code and financing options
can and probably will change multiple times in each
of the forthcoming years. Please check back
for updates.
A small business or farm can possibly expect to
receive at least 55%* or more of the installation
cost to be refunded to them through these grants and
tax credits. With additional amounts available
if solar is involved. It would not be unheard
of for a farm or rural business to have nearly all their costs
recovered in 7 years or less, and to double or
triple those savings over the next 14 years.
For a complete ROI (Return on Investment) analysis
please contact us today.
*Limits do apply.
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