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FLORIDA LAW PROHIBITS AND FORBIDS -
any entity from being denied the right to install solar collectors or any renewable energy source on a Florida building, including home owners associations and deed restricted communities.
The governing association may institute certain restrictions and require permission in regards to the installation as long as they are relevant and not beyond reason. Any restrictions must be applied uniformly to each individual and must not prohibit the effectiveness or increase the purchase price of the energy device.
Homeowners associations may not prohibit individuals from installing solar collectors on the roof of the home. However, the association may determine the placement of the collectors as long as they are not more than 45 degrees East or West of due South.
Lastly, any stipulations or restrictions made by an association such as, placing them in a direction that does not face the road, screening them from view by trees, fences or placing them in a location not feasible for heating will typically violate this state statute. The full text version of this state statute can be found below or more formally on the web at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC).
CHAPTER 163
INTERGOVERNMENTAL PROGRAMS
163.04 Energy devices based on renewable resources.—
(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or other provision of general or special law, the adoption of an ordinance by a governing body, as those terms are defined in this chapter, which prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting the installation of solar collectors, clotheslines, or other energy devices based on renewable resources is expressly prohibited.
(2) No deed restrictions, covenants, or similar binding agreements running with the land shall prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting solar collectors, clotheslines, or other energy devices based on renewable resources from being installed on buildings erected on the lots or parcels covered by the deed restrictions, covenants, or binding agreements. A property owner may not be denied permission to install solar collectors or other energy devices based on renewable resources by any entity granted the power or right in any deed restriction, covenant, or similar binding agreement to approve, forbid, control, or direct alteration of property with respect to residential dwellings not exceeding three stories in height. For purposes of this subsection, such entity may determine the specific location where solar collectors may be installed on the roof within an orientation to the south or within 45 degrees east or west of due south provided that such determination does not impair the effective operation of the solar collectors.
(3) In any litigation arising under the provisions of this section, the prevailing party shall be entitled to costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
(4) The legislative intent in enacting these provisions is to protect the public health, safety, and welfare by encouraging the development and use of renewable resources in order to conserve and protect the value of land, buildings, and resources by preventing the adoption of measures which will have the ultimate effect, however unintended, of driving the costs of owning and operating commercial or residential property beyond the capacity of private owners to maintain. This section shall not apply to patio railings in condominiums, cooperatives, or apartments.
History.—s. 8, ch. 80-163; s. 1, ch. 92-89; s. 14, ch. 93-249.
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Solar Tax Rebate
Get 30% (Up to $2000) back in Federal Tax Rebates!
Domestic Solar Hot Water Heater Qualifies for the 30% Federal Tax Credit *NOW EXTENDED THRU 2016*
- (Available for systems placed into service between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2016)
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 that became law August 8, 2005 Solar Investment Tax Credit On October 3, 2008, the House of Representatives passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) of 2008, which includes an 8-year extension of the solar investment tax credit (ITC) and provides other critical incentives to the renewable energy marketplace. Effective January 1, 2009, the EESA was signed into law by President Bush 3 hours after House passage, finally breathing life into what was thought to have been a lost cause as the ITC was about to expire. But not only does this new law extend the ITC, it also provides additional provisions that will combine for $18 billion in renewable energy tax credits. Those provisions include credits for solar, wind, and several other clean-energy industries in the United States. The EESA removes the $2000 limit on the tax credit for residential systems. Now, both commercial and residential photovoltaic systems will be eligible for a 30% tax credit. The new law also contains a suspension of utility exemptions so that electric utility companys can also benifit from the ITC. The solar industry is the greatest beneficiary of this legislation. The tax credits for solar initiatives are good for the next 8 years. Additionally, the $2,000 tax credit limit for residential solar systems being lifted means that homeowners can get a 30% tax credit on the solar panels they install starting next year. And now utilities can also take advantage of the tax-advantages. This new legislation will allow the solar marketplace in the U.S. to continue its strong growth and attract high levels of investment. Provisions Directly Benefitting the Solar Industry: Business Solar Investment Tax Credit (IR Code §48). The bill extends the 30% ITC for solar energy property for eight years through December 31, 2016. The bill allows the ITC to be used to offset both regular and alternative minimum tax (AMT) and waives the public utility exception of current law (i.e., permits utilities to directly invest in solar facilities and claim the ITC). The five-year accelerated depreciation allowance for solar property is permanent and unaffected by passage of the eight-year extension of the solar ITC. Residential Solar Investment Tax Credit (IR Code §25D). The bill extends the 30% ITC for residential solar property for eight years through December 31, 2016. It also removes the cap on qualified solar electric property expenditures (currently $2,000), effective for property placed in service after December 31, 2008. The bill allows individual taxpayers to use the credit to offset AMT liability, and to carry unused credits forward to the next succeeding taxable year. The $2,000 monetary cap on solar water heating property was not lifted and remains in effect.
• increased the tax credit for commercial solar installations to 30% with no cap
• and created a new 30% tax credit for residential solar installations capped at $2000
Q. How easy is it to get the solar tax credit?
A. The IRS form for residential energy credits is at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5695.pdf If you have a home-based business, ask your accountant if your business qualifies for the 30% business tax credit and accelerated depreciation and how it affects the value of your home. The IRS form for commercial investment tax credits is at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3468.pdf
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State of Florida
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Florida Public Service Commission Agrees On State RPS
Washington, D.C., JANUARY 12, 2009
On Friday January 9, 2009 the Florida Public Service Commission unanimously agreed to require the state's utilities to generate 20 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2020.
This will drastically change the landscape for renewable energy applications for a state that gets less than 3 percent of its power from renewable energy. The proposal calls for 7 percent renewable energy by January 2013, 12 percent by 2016, 18 percent by 2019 and 20 percent by end of 2020.
The proposal includes consumer protections to limit electric rate increases, and mandates that a vast majority that must be met with wind and solar power. It bars "clean" coal from the definition, but opens the door to the possible inclusion of new nuclear power in a modified "clean energy" goal supported by Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light.
The National Green Energy Council has chartered a new chapter in the state of Florida. It is presently populating the Board of Directors of FRGEC (Florida GEC).
“This is a substantial step in the right direction. I am glad to see that Florida has joined 18 other states with similar mandates. Our mission is to make sure that a Federal RPS is passed in this new incoming administration and congress and that it subsidizes the states goals and helps fund the rebate and REC programs so that the ratepayers don’t have to in these tough economic times”. said Ralph Avallone, the president of the National Green Energy Council.
The GEC believes that Florida has phenomenal opportunities in regards to renewable energy, both on land, through solar applications as well as wind energy off the coast through off shore wind energy applications.
The International Green Energy Council is an educational non profit organization committed to educating from kindergarten students to International leaders about the importance of energy efficiency, environmental stewardship and renewable energy education in order to save our planet for future generations of humanity.
