Legal Issues and Incentives

As time progresses, the production of solar energy will have innumerable benefits for society. Solar energy is not only cleaner and more accessible than traditional fuels, but also meets the legal requirements the government has set to protect the environment. In fact, the United States government supports the transition from gasoline usage to alternative energy usage. One of the primary goals of the Department of Energy (DOE) is to decrease the nation's dependence on foreign oil and increase energy self-sufficiency. Another one of the DOE's missions is to replace 30% of petroleum with alternative energy or fuels by the year 2010.

To facilitate the use of alternative fuels Congress passed the Energy Policy Act in 1992. This act's primary focus was to accelerate the use of alternative fuels or alternative energy sources in the area of transportation. Solar energy production satisfies the conditions of the Clean Air Act (which was passed in 1970 to improve air quality nationwide, was amended by Congress in 1990 and became a priority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA) and the Clean Water Act, both of which were designed to control the rate of growing pollution from the environment. One department within the DOE, the Office of Transportation Technologies, or OTT, was assigned to assist the Secretary of Energy-Efficiency and Renewable Energy and is currently engaged in sponsoring research, development, and demonstrations for groups creating alternative fuel sources for use in vehicles.

The first state to avidly propose the use of alternative energy was Missouri. Under the Missouri Air Conservation Law, the state government promotes a strict criteria directed towards implementing energy efficiency and figuring out new renewable energy project that would save tax dollars for other important needs.

The United States government (US Code, Title 22, Chapter 8, Sec 292) also provides for the demonstration of solar energy and other renewable energy resources to reduce dependence upon petroleum and petroleum products in foreign countries. The Secretary of State is responsible for implementing projects for the application of solar energy or other forms of renewable energy in government buildings built in foreign countries. This is done to insure that any project selected is adaptable to the local resources, climatic conditions, and economic circumstances of the country in which such project is implemented so that such country will be more likely to implement similar projects. In addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes, $4,000,000 of the amount authorized to be appropriated by section 101(a)(1) of this Act is available only for researching sources of alternative energy.

The Million Solar Roofs Initiative (MSR) is enabling businesses and communities to install solar systems on one million rooftops across the United States by 2010. The Department of Energy is leading this trailblazing initiative by working with partners in the building industry, local governments, state agencies, the solar industry, electric service providers, and non-governmental organizations to remove barriers and strengthen the demand for solar technologies.