The US federal government has not announced a solar panel installation scheme that provides an incentive of up to $8500 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 19, 2023
A social media post claiming that the US government provides an incentive of up to $8500 for homeowners in the US who install solar panels on their roofs for free is being widely shared.  Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: The federal government provides an incentive of up to $8500 for homeowners who install solar panels on their roofs for free.
Fact:  According to the Department of Energy website, the US federal government does not offer such a scheme. But Americans who install solar panels from 2022 to 2032 will receive a 30% federal tax credit. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
Firstly, we performed a basic keyword search on the internet to check if there were any circulars or press releases on the Department of Energy’s website. This search revealed that the Department of Energy, US, is not offering any such incentive.
However, the US government offers (here and here) a “30% federal tax credit” if one installs a solar photovoltaic system between 2022 and 2032, potentially reducing the cost of installation by more than $7,500 for an average system.
A spokesperson for the Department of Energy, Becca Jones-Albertus, told AFP Fact-Check that “Consumers should be careful about offers that seem too good to be true, and can contact the Federal Trade Commission to report scams and other bad business practices.”  Additionally, the Department of Energy also cautioned consumers about scammers who attempt to steal consumers’ personal data in the guise of verifying their eligibility for services.
Read this article by verifythis.com to know more about such misleading/ false information.
To sum up, the US federal government has not announced a solar panel installation scheme that provides an incentive of up to $8500