Connecticut's Solar Rebates and Incentives

Connecticut is a big part of solar-friendly New England. The state's politics reflect the progressive attitude of its populace, which basks in a delightful cornucopia of solar rebates and incentives. In fact, a Connecticut homeowner, installing an average solar PV system, can expect to get over $18,000 in rebates and incentives, and this from the state alone! Here is how Connecticut makes such impressive numbers come about:

TAX CREDITS

Property Tax Exemption for Renewable Energy Systems

• Covering passive solar space heat, solar water heat, active solar heating, and photovoltaics (PV), this law exempts solar installations from 100% of taxes incurred by the assessed increase in property value.
• Systems must have been installed on or after October 1, 2007. Also, for residential systems, the building in question must have four or fewer units.

Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Solar and Geothermal Systems

• Solar water, solar space heating, and PV systems are also totally exempt from applicable states sales and use taxes.

REBATES AND INCENTIVES

CCEF - Solar PV Rebate Program

• The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund's solar rebate program offers installers some lucrative incentives for solar projects. The incentives are then passed on to the customer as rebates.
• Incentive rates are $5.00/Watt for the first 5 kW, $4.30/Watt for the next 5 kW. Incentives will vary based on expected performance.
• Maximum incentive is a whopping $46,500 for residential systems, but the customer's average or expected electrical usage is factored in.

Mass Energy - Renewable Energy Certificate Incentive

• The Energy Consumers Alliance of New England (ECANE) buys renewable energy credits (RECs) from small PV and wind systems.
• ECANE will buy RECs at $0.03/kWh for three years. After that, the customer can choose to sell RECs to another entity or renew the contract with ECANE. See massenergy.com for information.

LOANS & GRANTS

There are also several loan or grant programs available to Connecticut residents wishing to purchase and install solar electric systems. Below are a list of links to more information:

• Capital Grants for Customer-Side Distributed Resources
• Low-interest Loans for Customer-Side Distributed Resources
• CHIF - Energy Conservation Loan

NET METERING

• The icing on the cake, of course, is Connecticut's net metering rules and regulations, which cover PV and solar thermal electric systems.
• The limit on system size is a whopping 2 MW.
• Net excess generation (NEG) is credited to the customer's next bill and is bought from the customer, at the utility's avoided-cost rate, at the end of the annual billing cycle. Early in 2008, the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) forced a change in the calculation of the rate, making it even more lucrative for customer generators. See DSIRE for a summary.

Obviously, Connecticut is poised to grow as much as possible in the solar market. It seem to have all its bases covered and an active legislature continually assesses and tweaks programs and rules to make them work better for solar in the state. What can one say but Keep it Up!

USEFUL LINKS

Connecticut Clean Energy Fund

Connecticut Department of Revenue

DSIRE: Connecticut

Connecticut Solar Contractors

Department of Public Utility Control

Mass Energy Consumers Alliance (operating under ECANE)

Connecticut Housing Investment Fund