Arizona Cuts Solar Incentive Amount Because Program Is So Popular

Despite the down economy, demand for solar-power installations has been so large it threatened to drain Arizona’s solar rebate fund by June. So the Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) moved to reduce the amount of each rebate, in order to make the fund last longer and to provide solar incentives to more people. More APS home and business customers put solar panels on their roofs last year than in the previous eight years combined, and about 113 residential customers a week have applied for solar rebates from the utility this year, according to the Arizona Republic. The APS has proposed cutting its solar rebate from $3,000 per kilowatt to $2,150 a kilowatt.

A forward-thinking utility in Florida wants to help more homeowners and businesses save energy. Tampa Electric is setting aside $1.5 million over five years for energy efficiency incentives for customers.

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) recently increased funding to $1.45 million for a solar-energy incentive program for commercial buildings.

The New York Public Service Commission set aside $279 million in incentives over the next five years for small-scale renewable energy projects. About $170 million of the total has been tagged for solar-technology projects. The Commission’s approval came on March 25.

Early this week, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed a bill into law setting a new Renewable Energy Standard that requires the state to get 30 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Massachusetts is on a roll when it comes to solar: The solar electric market there has experienced triple-digit growth for two straight years!

Updated March 22: The revamped SolarGenerations incentive program being run by NV Energy will now start taking applications April 21 at 12 p.m. PT. NV Energy moved the date back from March 24 in order to provide a better opportunity for customers to submit a more complete application.