With tax credit, consumers give turbines, solar panels a second look

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http://features.csmonitor.com/economyrebuild/2009/04/13/with-tax-credit-consumers-give-turbines-solar-panels-a-second-look/

With tax credit, consumers give turbines, solar panels a second look

The stimulus package allows buyers to claim a 30 percent tax credit for renewable-energy products.

By Bridget Huber | Contributor/ April 13, 2009 edition

Augusta, Maine

At the Home and Garden Show in Augusta, Maine, on Saturday, the big attention-getter was over in the convention-center corner: a powder-blue wind turbine.

With clean lines and a sleek fiberglass composite skin, the home-scale windmill was fetching enough, but it was wearing something that made it even more attractive to passersby: a bright orange sign advertising that buyers could claim a 30 percent federal tax credit for its purchase.

Looking at the turbine, Bruce Cooper, a teacher, says he’s been thinking for six years about converting his home to wind power. “These tax credits may be just the thing that push me over the edge,” he says.

Across the United States, many in the alternative-energy and home-renovation industries report increased interest from consumers like Mr. Cooper, who have been enticed by the tax credits in the federal stimulus package to at least consider loosening their vise-grip on the purse strings and add something “green” to their homes.

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