Cost > Connecticut

From setting up the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) to establishing some of the country's most ambitious renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), Connecticut lawmakers has consistently demonstrated their commitment to renewable power. Here’s a look at what to expect in terms of incentives, tax breaks and rules and standards.

For starters, Connecticut law requires the state’s two investor-owned utilities—Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P) and United Illuminating Company (UI)—to provide net-metering agreements to customers who generate electricity with solar, wind and a number of other renewable-energy technologies. Most recently updated in 2007 by House Bill 7432, the net metering rules stipulate that any net excess generation (NEG) produced by your system must be credited to your account at the utility’s retail rate. After the first 12-month billing cycle, utilities typically purchase any NEG at their avoided-cost rate.

In 2007, Connecticut updated its renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which has been in place since 1998. In brief terms, the RPS mandates that, by 2020, 27% of all electricity will come from qualifying renewable-energy sources. This is one of the most ambitious RPS programs in the country.

To meet the RPS goals, utilities are of course required to get a certain portion of their electricity from renewable sources. A common method of doing so is via the purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs). Put simply, utilities purchase the power generated from individuals’ PV panels, for example, and in return are granted a proportional number of RECs with which to meet state-mandated targets. In this fashion, Mass Energy sponsors the Renewable Energy Certificate Incentive program. Mass Energy will purchase the output of your PV or wind system at $0.03 per kilowatt-hour. Entities from all sectors are eligible, provided they sign a 3-year purchasing contract. Mass Energy’s parent company, Energy Consumers Alliance of New England (ECANE), is a non-profit organization that buys RECs from individuals, non-profits, businesses and government entities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Set up in 2000 by the state legislature, the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) provides funding for a wide range of renewable-energy initiatives. One of the fund’s most prominent efforts has been the Project 150 Initiative, which provides grant funding to businesses developing renewable-energy projects. The minimum grant size is $50,000.

CCEF also sponsors a state rebate program, offering generous per-kilowatt incentives in residential, non-profit and government sectors. The rebate amounts are graduated as follows:

Amount for residential:        
$5.00 per watt (PTC rating) for first 5 kilowatts; $4.30 per watt for next 5 kW, adjusted based on expected output performance; maximum incentive of $46,000

Amount for goverment/non-profit:        
$5.00 per watt (PTC rating), adjusted based on expected output performance, up to $50,000

Like many other states, Connecticut offers a number of tax-based incentives. As outlined by the State of Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, purchases for solar-energy systems (and geothermal systems) are, since the beginning of 2007, granted a 100% exemption from the state’s sales and use taxes. Furthermore, solar-energy systems—and other renewable-energy systems—are accorded a 100% exemption from state property taxes. Essentially this means you can invests in PV panels without unduly increasing your property tax liability.

There’s obviously a lot going on in Connecticut on the renewable-energy front. For more information on these and other programs, visit the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency website.

Connecticut