10:32 a.m.
Friday, February 6, 2026 10:31 am

To the editor:

As a lifelong Republican and proud New Hampshire resident, I love solar power--and so should you. It's clean, cost-effective, and embodies our "Live Free or Die" spirit by letting individuals generate their own electricity, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and building diversified local energy to meet rising demand.

House Bill 1002, sponsored by fellow Republican Rep. Len Turcotte, would repeal the 50-year-old statute allowing towns to treat solar as equipment exempt from property taxes. As a licensed Realtor with over 25 years' experience, an approved educator training the New Hampshire Appraisers Association on valuing solar in transactions, a real estate developer who integrates solar into projects, and a solar project owner, I urge my party to reject--or substantially amend--this bill.

The House Science, Technology and Energy Committee hearing on Jan. 20, 2026, featured hours of testimony from municipal officials, assessors, installers, homeowners, and clean energy advocates. Proponents, led by Rep. Turcotte, called the exemption an unfair subsidy that shifts tax burden to non-solar neighbors, emphasized tax fairness over environmental benefits, and claimed voters were uninformed when approving exemptions at town meetings.

Opponents stressed that with 153 municipalities (about two-thirds) adopting the exemption via voter-approved town meetings and energy committees, repealing it overrides New Hampshire's tradition of local home rule. Asserting voters were unaware insults democracy. Statewide, solar exemptions total $142.7 million in value (2024 Department of Revenue Administration data), but impacts are tiny--in Hudson, just 0.2% of the tax base, less than one cent on rates. Assessors testified that tracking and reassessing solar costs towns more (hiring, software) than the revenue gained. Rep. Turcotte acknowledged revenue misinformation, and testimony showed costs exceed benefits.

Solar delivers clear wins: it cuts fossil fuel emissions (linked to 350,000 premature U.S. deaths yearly), lowers grid demand, hedges volatile fuel prices, boosts resilience, and reduces system-wide costs by easing peak demand and transmission needs. Installers and businesses warned repeal would raise commercial costs by thousands annually, stalling investment.

The hearing overlooked key realities. Solar panels are equipment, not real estate--appraisers value them separately, like machinery in car washes or machine shops, which aren't taxed as property. Propane tanks, often third-party owned, go untaxed as real estate; taxing solar panels is equally absurd. Many installations use third-party-owned models via Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) or leases, letting residents save on bills without upfront costs. Taxing them erodes those savings. We should not tax equipment not owned by the property owners as real estate.

Much of New Hampshire remains captive to Eversource's for-profit monopoly and some of the nation's highest rates. Solar provides competition and freedom. As a developer, I export surplus power at 11 cents/kWh but buy at 31 cents across the street--distributed solar benefits everyone by creating a profit margin to utilities lowering cost to all rate payers.

Commercial solar already qualifies for Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) programs, giving towns predictable revenue without undermining economics. If HB 1002 passes, more projects may shift to PILOTS. Retroactive changes to taxation is poor policy. Many of us invested in solar relying on current treatment; altering it erodes trust and stability.

As a former legislator, I propose amending HB 1002: exempt residential solar (25 kW AC or less) as equipment, while larger projects pay towns via existing PILOT programs at a fair statewide rate per kWh. The Municipal and Clean Energy Association could lead this balanced approach.

To my fellow Republicans: solar isn't "evil liberalism" just because some Democrats support it. It's smart conservatism--self-reliance, innovation, fiscal prudence, and local control with proven economic and environmental gains. Producing power at home aligns with our values and frees us from profit monopolies.

It's time to lead on solar, save residents money, and embrace the sun. Oppose or amend HB 1002.

Let's power New Hampshire forward.

- Packy Campbell,
Farmington