Hundreds of Suburban Maryland Homeowners Wait for Property Tax Credits for Going Green

Hundreds of suburban Maryland residents are on waiting lists, some as long as five years, to receive county property tax credits for the cost of installing environmentally friendly home improvements such as geothermal heating and solar energy panels.

The property tax credit can go as high as $5,000 against the cost of installing energy-efficient systems, which industry experts say range in price from $25,000 to $40,000.

At least one county—Howard--is questioning whether to continue offering the credits as waiting lists grow and the program grows larger and more expensive.

Howard County Council members are scheduled to vote Wednesday on whether to continue the program.

Other counties across suburban Maryland are offering the tax credits amid national efforts to kick start the green energy economy in President Obama’s stimulus package.

“We went through the space age, some people are speculating the information age is winding down and the next big technology system is focused on alternative energy and clean energy systems,” said Robert Neff, assistant professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. “The government is trying to encourage consumers to put money into that industry so those industries grow.”

Statewide, the number of homeowners who have installed solar photovoltaic, solar water heating, geothermal heat pump and wind turbine systems in their residences has jumped considerably, according to officials at the Maryland Energy Administration.

In fiscal year 2009, the state gave out 400 grants for homeowners installing solar energy systems. In fiscal year 2011, the state is on track to process close to 2,000 grants of that sort, said spokesman Ian P. Hines.

Interest among homeowners in county incentive programs has exploded as well.

Baltimore County started its energy tax credit program Dec. 1, 2010, and county officials anticipate the program—which already has 44 applicants—will have a waiting list, said county spokeswoman Ellen Kobler.

In Montgomery County, the waiting list is at least five years for homeowners seeking a tax credit of a maximum of $5,000 for installing renewable energy systems such as geothermal heating, county staff said. There are 472 applications for the renewable energy credit on the waiting list. For fiscal year 2011, 118 people received the renewable credit.

In Howard County, where there is a waiting list of five or six years for 263 residents for a similar energy credit, council members began evaluating whether they want to continue to offer it.

“When there are other issues of homelessness and hunger and newer technologies and things with our stormwater management that’s going to be tens of millions of dollars, I’m weighing it and considering it,” said Howard County Council Chairperson Calvin Ball. “I guess the challenge is because of the waiting list, even if we increase it, where does it end? If we bump it up, it’s not going to shorten the waiting list. More people will continue to try to get more and more.”

Howard and Prince George’s counties each have a $250,000 cap on the amount of credits that can be given away in a year. Montgomery County has a $500,000 limit on credits that go toward more expensive renewable energy systems like solar or less extensive home improvements such as caulking or insulation.

To date, Howard County has awarded $653,000 in tax credits since the program’s inception in July 2007.

In May, Howard County Executive  doubling the $250,000 tax credit to get through the long waiting list more quickly, and then ending it April 1, 2012.

At a recent Howard County Council public hearing, Columbia resident Paul Verchinski, who recently installed a $24,000 solar electric system in his home and is on the waiting list to receive a property tax credit, spoke out against Ulman’s proposal, according to the Columbia Flier.

Verchinski’s system is composed of photovoltaic panels on his roof that convert sunlight into energy, which is either used or fed back into the electricity grid—a system that translates into savings on his electricity bill, he said.

Verchinski told Patch that he also received a $4,000 clean energy grant from the Maryland Energy Administration, which awards homeowners based on the amount of solar watts produced.

But with what Verchinski said was a decrease in state grant money and potential moves toward eliminating county programs, it could be a long time before some homeowners recoup their investments on efficient energy systems.

Recently, the state changed how it awards grants for solar power, going from a tiered rate system in which homeowners receive more grant money up front per watts produced from solar panels, to a flat rate of 50 cents per watt, said Hines, the Maryland Energy Administration spokesperson.

“In my case, I may never see the fruits of this one, particularly if pay back is out 10 or 15 years,” said Verchinski, who is retired. “I might be in the box by that time.”

There is no energy property tax credit in Carroll County.

Prince George’s County officials said there is no waiting list for the maximum $5,000 energy tax credit, in part, they said, because installation of energy-efficient solar or geothermal systems is prohibitively expensive, even with tax credits.

Neff, the UMBC assistant professor whose research focus is global climate change, said he wouldn’t be installing solar panels on his home in Baltimore.

“I’m a nice guy, but I’m not that nice,” he said. “I have to pay for college for my son. Putting solar panels on this home would basically be a gift to the next homeowner. … We’re not planning to be in this home long enough for that to pay off.”

Howard County Council members are scheduled to vote Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. to adopt the capital and operating budgets, as well as on whether to continue the energy tax credits.