The solar market in North Carolina is slowly but surely picking up steam, thanks in part to a number of state- and utility-sponsored initiatives. North Carolina homeowners, for instance, may take a state tax credit worth up to 35 percent of installed solar energy system costs, up to $10,500. Add to that the 30-percent tax credit available from the federal government, and the cost of installing solar panels may be considerably reduced.

Beyond tax credits — of which not everyone can take full advantage — there hasn’t been much in the way of cash incentives, like solar rebates, to help spur demand for residential solar power in North Carolina. A new program may help change that — at least for customers of Progress Energy.

Starting January 1, Progress Energy Carolinas will begin offering cash incentives to North Carolina residential customers who purchase and install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The initiative, dubbed the SunSense Solar PV program, combines an upfront cash rebate of $1/watt of installed solar capacity with monthly bill credits of 4.5 cents per watt for PV systems installed after the launch date. According to Progress Energy’s website, the incentives

are designed to help offset the cost of installing the systems, reducing the initial investment to enable more residential customers to participate. The ongoing incentive provides customers with additional financial assistance and provides Progress Energy Carolinas with the rights to the renewable energy credits generated by the PV installations.

Interestingly, the solar rebate and on-going bill credits will be available only to customers who own their solar energy system, which presumably would make ineligible any homeowner interested in leasing their solar power system. Systems must be between two and ten kilowatts in size.

Progress, which serves over three million customers in the Carolinas and Florida, has been developing its solar PV incentive programs for quite some time — see this post from June 2009. It’s great to see that the utility will finally launch its residential solar energy rebate in North Carolina.