Are you a Pacific Gas & Electric customer?  If you live in Northern or Central California, chances are you get your gas and electricity from PG&E.  You might have heard recently that you should get solar right now, before the CSI rebate drops 30%.  What does that mean for you?

The Background

In 2007,  California launched the California Solar Initiative (CSI) which provides solar rebates to homeowners.  The program was designed to last until 2016, although it could run out faster. The amount of money the CSI gives out for solar installations decreases over time, so people who get solar earlier get more money back.

Current PG&E rebates

The initial rebate to homeowners through the CSI was $2.50 per watt.   That amount has declined in steps, and will continue to decline.  The final step of the program gives a rebate of  just $.20 per watt.  Currently, the rebate is at $1.55 per watt, but it’s likely that it will  drop this month to $1.10 per watt.

What the Rebate Drop means to you

A homeowner with an average sized solar system who gets the $1.55 rebate would get about $1500 more from the state of California than that same homeowner would get with the $1.10 rebate.  If solar is something you definitely want to do, you should try to get the better rebate.  That probably means booking your reservation in the next two weeks, although nobody knows exactly when the rebate will drop.  It’s not done on a time-basis, but on a demand basis.  There are a certain number of watts available at the $1.55 level, and when those are taken, the rebate will drop.  Most solar companies believe this will happen somewhere towards the middle or end of this month.

How do I get the rebate?

To get the rebate from California, you’ll need to have a system designed for your home, and to sign a contract with a solar company.  It doesn’t require that your system is built, just that the plans are finalized.  The first step is to contact your solar company and have them give you a cost and savings estimate for your home.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 2nd, 2009 at 9:23 pm and is filed under Solar Policy, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.