Solar Photovoltaics

NIPSCO - Feed-In Tariff

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

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Feed-in-Tariff

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

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Solar Renewable Energy Credits

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

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Austin Energy - Value of Solar Rate

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
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Solar Renewable Energy Certificates Program (SRECs)

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

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Value of Solar Tariff

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

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Renewable Market Adjusting Tariff (ReMAT)

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

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Mathias Agricultural Energy Efficiency Grant program

NOTE: Applications for grants for FY2017 program are due by December 15, 2016. 

Mathias Agriculture Energy Efficiency program offered by the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) provides grants to farms and businesses in agricultural sector to offset 50% of the cost of energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades. Grant application must be submitted to the MEA by December 15, 2016. The MEA anticipates announcing grant winners in March or April of 2017. 

Eligibility

Program is open to farms and businesses in agricultural sector for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that have total cost of at least $20,000.  Examples may include, but

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Bear Valley Electric Service - Solar Initiative Program

Bear Valley Electric Service is providing an incentive for their residential customers to install photovoltaic (PV) systems. Systems must be sized to provide no more than 90% of the calculated or estimated annual energy consumption of the property. Incentives will step down overtime as participation milestones are met. Individual incentives will be adjusted from the base incentive rate based on expected performance. See website above for more information.  

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Residential Solar Permit Requirements

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

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