California

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's (LADWP) Solar Incentive Program began in 2000, with a funding level of $150 million. The California Solar Initiative, created in 2007 upon the enactment of SB 1, established new guidelines for municipal utilities to follow, and established new funding levels. The LADWP Board of Commissioners approved the Solar Incentive Program Guideline Revisions on September 4, 2007, to comply with SB1. The revised program was suspended in early 2011, but was revised and relaunched on September 1, 2011.

The Solar Incentive Program has 10 phases with declining incentive levels as certain installed megawatt (MW) targets are met. There are separate goals for residential and non-residential participants, and the incentive levels for each will decline irrespective of the other. All incentives are adjusted for expected performance. Non-residential systems may be eligible for bonus incentives if they utilize equipment manufactured in LA or if the systems is building-integrated PV. 

LADWP’s 10-year, $313 million Revised Solar Photovoltaic Rebate Program began in 2007 and will remain in effect through December 31, 2017, or until the total installed MW goal has been reached.

IID accepted applications for the 2013 PV Solutions Program from Jan. 2, 2013 – Jan. 31, 2013. Winners were determined via lottery. The program is now closed for the remainder of 2013, but another funding round is expected in 2014. 

Through the PV Solutions Rebate Program, Imperial Irrigation District (IID) provides rebates to its residential and commercial customers who install grid-tied photovoltaic systems. Systems less than 30 kilowatts (kW) can receive an upfront incentive based on the expected performance of the system. For 2013 the expected performance based incentive is $1.95 per watt, but may be reduced based on expected performance. 

Systems 30 kW or larger will receive a performance based incentive. System owners will receive payments over a 5 year period based on the actual output of their system. The performance based incentive for systems installed in 2013 is $0.18 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Systems up to 1 megawatt (MW) can participate in the program, but commercial systems over 300 kW and government/non-profit systems over 400 kW will receive a prorated incentive. These payments will be prorated based on the ratio of 300 kW or 400 kW to the size of the site. For example, an 800 kW system owned by a non-profit will receive a payments based on half of the system's output. Incentive payments are capped at $550,000 for the 5-year period ($110,000/year).

Hercules Municipal Utility offers a $2.25-per-watt AC rebate (2012 rebate level) to its residential and commercial customers who purchase and install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems smaller than 10 kilowatts (kW). Systems 10 kW and larger (up to 250 kW) are eligible for an incentive of $0.17 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) based on the system's actual performance over a period of 5 years.

The Solar Solutions program provides all customer groups with an incentive to install photovoltaic (PV) systems on their homes and buildings. Rebate levels will decrease over time on an annual basis. The rebate levels for future program years can be seen at the website listed above. Systems must be sized to produce no more than 100% of the customer’s past 12 months kWh consumption.

Note: This program is currently closed an will reopen on July 1, 2014. Contact the utility for more information.

Corona Department of Water & Power is providing rebates for residential and commercial photovoltaic (PV) systems. The rebate amount for 2013 is $1.22 per watt up to $3,660 for residential systems and $30,500 for commercial systems. Customers must submit an application and receive approval prior to beginning the installation. 

City of Shasta Lake Electric Utility is providing rebates to their customers for the purchase of photovoltaic (PV) systems. The rebate levels will decrease annually over the life of the program. For fiscal year 2012-2013 the rebate level is $1.81 per watt for residential systems and is capped at $9,050. The fiscal year 2012-2013 rebate for commercial systems is $1.92 per watt capped at $192,000. 

Note: This program is currently not accepting applications. Check the program web site for information regarding future solicitations.

The City and County of San Francisco, through the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), are providing incentives to residents, businesses and non-profits who install photovoltaic (PV) systems on their properties. Systems must be at least one kilowatt (kW) in capacity, and there is no maximum size limit to participate. Different incentive levels are available whether the property is residential, commercial, low-income residential, non-profit, or multi-unit residential. 

The City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) PV Partners Program offers incentives to customers that install qualifying PV systems. The program, which has a budget of approximately $13 million over 10 years, is divided into 10 steps (residential incentives have 12 steps), each funded at $1.3 million. Each step is allocated across four customer rate classes -- residential, small/medium commercial, large commercial and non-profit/public sector -- with a specified PV capacity allocated to it. Rebate levels will drop $0.20 per watt as the incentive level moves to the next step.

Incentive levels as of 6/24/2013 are described below. For current levels, consult the program web site above.

Residential: $1.00/watt AC (no maximum)

Small/Medium Commercial (Rate E-2, E-4) <30 kW: $2.00/watt AC

Small/Medium Commercial (Rate E-2, E-4) 30 kW and greater: PBI $0.25/kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 60 months

Large Commercial (Rate E-7) <30 kW: $1.40/watt AC

Large Commercial (Rate E-7) 30 kW and greater: PBI $0.18/kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 60 months

Funding for the program is renewed each year on July 1, with additional funding brought forward from future program years as needed. Special incentives for non-profit and public sector installations were terminated on July 20, 2010. Funds remaining from this set aside have been added to the fund for the small and medium commercial sector. Non-profits and public sector entities may still be eligible to receive incentives through the program for small and medium commercial.
 

City of Lompoc Utilities provides rebates to its electric customers who purchase and install photovoltaic (PV) systems. The rebate is $2.00 per watt-AC. The incentive amount may not exceed 50% the cost of the system, up to a maximum of $50,000. 

To qualify for the rebate the system must meet all the criteria as defined by the Lompoc City Electric interconnection agreement for self-generating electric systems and the requirements set forth by the California Energy Commission.

Through the City of Healdsburg's PV Buy-down Program, residential and commercial customers are eligible for rebate on qualifying grid-connected PV systems. In keeping with SB1, (the California Solar Initiative mandating that utilities put into place programs to assure that 3000 megawatts (MW) of solar installations on homes is in place within 10 years) the incentive level will decrease annually over the 10 year life of the program. The program is currently on Step 7, with rebates of $0.82 per watt for residential and $0.78 per watt for commercial installations.  Larger systems may be installed, but the program will only reward individual rebates for the first 4 kW of a residential system and 20 kW of a commercial system. Rebates are available on a first come, first served basis.