NY Solar Rebates to Expire Soon

New York currently offers its residents one of the best solar incentive packages in the country: in addition to the 30 percent  federal tax credit, New Yorkers can access a state tax credit (up to $5,000) and a very good solar rebate: residential solar installations can receive up to $20,000 per project ($2-3/watt up to 8kw), while commercial solar installations can receive up to $200,000 ($2-3/watt up to 80kw).

This excellent solar rebate, offered through NYSERDA’s Power Naturally program, is only accepting applications through the end December 2009. New York has shown strong leadership in renewable energy, a trend continuing with Governor Paterson’s announcement that $10 million in federal stimulus money will drive right into the solar installation market in the state–we’ll keep you posted on that one. Still, it’s very likely that solar incentives in the future will be scaled back from current levels. The rebate program has already dropped, in its current incarnation, from former levels of $4/watt and up. To make it clear, New York has not announced any scale-backs for 2010, but precedent strongly suggests such a move.

For another example of this kind of roll-back, look West: when California rolled out its groundbreaking California Solar Initiative, the program made it quite clear that rebates would be stepping back over time. From highs similar to New York’s, the state has now dropped to less than $2/watt in all utility service districts.

Why scale back? States and utilities participate in solar rebates and other incentives in order to meet legislated energy goals, sometimes set forth as part of a statewide renewable portfolio standard (RPS). In order to obtain, say, 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, a state has to really work hard to source that energy. It can come from power generation facilities such as large wind farms or solar plants, or it can come from distributed generation facilities: that is, solar panels on your home or business. So the faster a utility can get its customers to install solar, the faster its renewable energy goals are met. Scaling back solar rebates should have the effect of a big one day sale at a department store: it gets up-front movement, fast, on the principle of “Buy now, save now”.

So if you live in New York and you’ve been thinking about installing solar panels, this is the time to do it. Take advantage of what will likely be the highest solar incentive levels in the state. When you can take advantage of such strong solar incentives, solar can offer a great return on your investment.