Alice in Rebate Land
Mar 17th, 2008 by solarbill
There are a number of incentives for new solar installations. I will go over the residential ones here. Please bear with me as the rules are rather complicated.
There is a 30% federal tax CREDIT. It is limited to $2000 for hot water unlimited for PV. Proof of installation of an approved system should be included with the tax return for this credit. This is fairly straightforward.
For existing homes in our area SCE is handling the rebate. A net metering agreement is required with SCE.
There is a rebate mandated by the California Public Utilities Commission. At the moment it is $2.20 per watt($3.00 for non-profits). This watt is calculated by using the California Energy Commission rating for the panel combined with various other figures. It is too complicated to go into here.
It is required that you take the SCE energy survey. You can find this on line at:
https://websafe.kemainc.com/scescg/gatewaysce.asp
It will give you an idea of where your electricity is going. It will also give your solar contractor helpful info on sizing your system.
Other requirements include:
Reservation request application
Signed installation contract
System description worksheet
Printout of Expected Performance Based Buydown tool calculations
Copy of electric bill
A building permit
Cost breakdown worksheet
All of which your contractor can help with.
You may also be required to prove that you paid for the system.
If you feel as I do that this is altogether too much paperwork you might call or write your local representatives and the Governator.
For new home the California Energy Commission is handling the rebate. The rules are similar to above with a few exceptions. Obviously an energy survey would be meaningless on a new home so that is not required. It is required that you prove that the new home is 15% above the title 24 energy calculations for the home. This requires bringing in someone qualified to make this determination. We can help you find someone to do this. You can get more info at :