Rebates

*According to the VEPP program, the 2022 RFP was the final solicitation year for the Standard Offer program, until further notice from the Vermont Public Utility Commission.

Background

In May 2009, Vermont enacted legislation requiring all Vermont retail electricity providers to purchase electricity generated by eligible renewable energy facilities through the Sustainably Priced Energy Enterprise Development (SPEED) Program via long-term contracts with fixed standard offer rates. This policy, commonly known as a "feed-in tariff", is intended to provide a reasonable return on investment to renewable energy facility developers, thereby spurring deployment of renewable energy. In June 2015, Vermont enacted legislation

Note: Massachusetts is in the process of implementing a new solar incentive program - the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program - to follow the SREC II program. 

Massachusetts' renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requires each regulated electricity supplier/provider serving retail customers in the state* to include in the electricity it sells 15% qualifying renewables by December 31, 2020. Legislation enacted in July 2008 (S.B. 2768) significantly expanded the RPS, establishing two separate renewable standards -- a standard for “Class I” renewables and a standard for “Class II” renewables. The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) regulates the RPS and developed

Note: As of September 2023, the intermediate solar category is closed to new applications. Other categories remain open.

NIPSCO is offering a feed-in tariff program for customers who generate electricity from solar, wind, or biomass. All NIPSCO electric customers in good standing are eligible for the program. Facilities must be between 3 kilowatts (kW) and 1 megawatt (MW), must be insured, and must meet interconnection standards. Payments are made to the customer on a monthly basis. Applications are available on the web site, as well as engineering standards and tariff information.

There is a non-refundable processing fee of $25 plus

Note: This program is closed to new applications. The summary below is for informational purposes only. 

In September 2009, the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) issued a decision that established a feed-in tariff in Hawaii. The feed-in tariff is offered by the three investor-owned utilities: HECO, MECO and HELCO. The rates for the feed-in tariff, schedule, and standard interconnection agreements were approved on October 13, 2010. This program will be reviewed by the PUC two years after the start of the program and every three years thereafter. The FIT for Tiers 1 and 2 opened November 17, 2010 for HECO

Note: The Illinois Power Agency's proposed 2016 procurement includes one-year SREC procurements of 34,207 SRECs for Ameren, 69,866 SRECs for ComEd, and 13,225 SRECs for MidAmerican. It also includes separate five-year distributed generation (DG) REC procurements of 7,767 DG RECs for Ameren,16,294 DG RECs for ComEd, 2,204 DG RECs for MidAmerican. See the IPA website and Docket 15-0541 for more information on procurement plans.

In August 2007, Illinois enacted legislation (Public Act 095-0481) that created the Illinois Power Agency (IPA). The agency’s purpose is to develop electricity procurement plans for investor-owned electric utilities (EUs) supplying over 100,000 Illinois customers to

Note: In August 2014, the City Council of Austin, Texas, enacted Resolution No. 20140828, which directed program changes to the Value of Solar Tariff as follows:

• allow excess credits to be rolled over from year to year (instead of being reset at zero at the start of a calendar year),
• allow solar energy systems of any size to be eligible for the Residential Solar Tariff by removing the existing 20 kW cap,
• set an annual price floor equal to the residential electric rates of a “tier 3 customer” (i.e., $0.091 per kilowatt-hour for the rate schedule approved September 2013),
• allow

Note: H.B. 15 of 2025 repealed the SREC program by prohibiting retail electric suppliers from collecting funds for solar credits. Remaining funds in the solar generation fund are to be transferred to the school energy performance contracting loan fund.

Compliance goals were revised by House Bill 6 in 2019 that reduced the renewable portfolio requirements of all electric distribution utilities in the state. House Bill 6 eliminated the solar carve-out in Ohio's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS). House Bill 6 also created a Renewable Generation Fund to provide fixed payments for energy generated by certain renewable facilities; this was changed

Note: As of June 2025, Xcel Energy and Minnesota Power have not adopted the VOST.

Enacted in 2013, H.F. 729 required the Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC) to develop a distributed solar value methodology. Minnesota investor-owned utilities are permitted to use the approved methodology in applications for a Value of Solar Tariff (VOST) that would be used in lieu of a net metering billing mechanism. Under a VOST, customers are billed for all electricity usage under their existing applicable tariff and are credited for the solar electricity they produce under the approved VOST.

Methodology

The DOC was required to consult

All investor-owned utilities and publicly-owned utilities with 75,000 or more customers must make a standard Renewable Market Adjusting Tariff (ReMAT) available to their customers. As the ReMAT is meant to help the utilities meet California's renewable portfolio standard (RPS), all green attributes associated with the energy, including renewable energy credits (RECs), transfer to the utility with the sale. Any customer-generator who sells power to the utility under this tariff may not participate in other state incentive programs. The tariffs will be available until the combined statewide cumulative capacity of eligible generation installed equals 750 megawatts (MW) for the general ReMAT

Washington's State Building Code sets requirements for the installation, inspection, maintenance and repair of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems. Local jurisdictions have the authority to issue building permits, or exempt systems from building permit requirements. Through an emergency rulemaking procedure, the State Building Council adopted revisions to the residential building code effective July 1, 2014. These amendments specify that installations meeting standard requirements are exempt from the roof covering specifications in the code, meaning they do not require an engineering report or stamped drawings. 

Jurisdictions still have authority over the permitting process for rooftop solar installations, but the rule change