Rebates

Electric Program Investment Charge Program 

California's 1996 electric industry restructuring legislation (AB 1890) directed the state’s three major investor-owned utilities (Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and San Diego Gas & Electric) to collect a "public goods charge" (PGC) on ratepayer electricity use from 1998 through 2001 to create public benefits funds for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and research, development & demonstration (RD&D). 

California's public benefits fund, the Electric Program Investment Charge Program (EPIC), was established in 2011 to help meet the state's climate goals by decarbonizing the electricity sector. The program invests more than $130

Holy Cross Energy's WE CARE (With Efficiency, Conservation And Renewable Energy) Program offers an incentive for customers who install renewable energy generation for net metering at their premises. Eligible renewable energy technologies include wind, hydroelectric, photovoltaic, biomass, and geothermal sources.

Incentive

The incentive offered varies by the size of the renewable energy system as follows:

• $250 per kW for the first 6 kW of a system, and
• $100 per kW for the next 19 kW of a system.

For example, a 15 kW system is eligible for a $2,400 (= ($250 * 6 kW) + ($100 * 9 kW)) incentive

Nevada law requires that solar energy system installers be licensed by the Nevada State Contractors Board. Contractors may be licensed under License Classification C-37 (solar contracting for solar water heating and space heating and air conditioning). Contractors may also perform solar work under License Classification C-1* (plumbing and heating), sub-classification (d) for solar water heating installations, or sub-classification (f) for solar air heating. Contractors may also perform solar work under License C-2 (electrical contracting), sub-classification (g) for photovoltaics used to generate electricity; or C-21 (Refrigeration and air-conditioning), sub-classification (e) for solar air conditioning. Work on utility scale solar projects must

Note: H.B. 576 of 2021 repealed this RPS. The information below is presented for informational purposes only. 

Montana’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS), enacted in April 2005 as part of the Montana Renewable Power Production and Rural Economic Development Act, requires public utilities and competitive electricity suppliers serving 50 or more customers to obtain a percentage of their retail electricity sales from eligible renewable resources according to the following schedule:

• 5% for compliance years 2008-2009 (1/1/2008 - 12/31/2009)
• 10% for compliance years 2010-2014 (1/1/2010 - 12/31/2014)
• 15% for compliance year 2015 (1/1/2015 - 12/31/2015) and for each year thereafter

Public utilities

Hawaii offers several specialty licenses for solar contractors through Hawaii’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. The following specialty licenses are available: Solar Power Systems Contractor (C-60); Solar Energy Systems Contractor (C-61); Solar Hot Water Systems Contractor (C-61a); and Solar Heating and Cooling Systems Contractor (C-61b). These licenses require business and trade exams plus four years of experience. An Electrical Contractor (C-13) license is required to install photovoltaic systems other than low voltage DC wiring and it includes the work of the C-60 solar power systems contractor. Plumbing contractors (C-37) are also allowed to install solar hot water heating systems.

Senate Bill 5111, signed by Washington's governor in May 2005, created a reduced business and occupation (B&O) tax rate for Washington manufacturers of solar-electric (photovoltaic) modules, stirling converters, or silicon components of those systems.

In May 2009, Washington enacted SB 6170, effective July 1, 2009. This bill reduced the B&O tax rate to 0.275%, effective October 1, 2009. This tax rate is 43% lower than the standard manufacturing B&O tax rate. This reduced tax rate applies to manufacturers of photovoltaic modules, stirling converters, solar grade silicon, silicon solar wafers, silicon solar cells, thin film solar devices or compound semiconductor solar

Residential

The Boulder Green Points Building Program is a mandatory residential green building program that requires a builder or homeowner to include a minimum amount of sustainable building components based on the size of the proposed structure. Similar to the US Green Building Council's LEED program, the Boulder Green Points program awards points for a menu of sustainable building practices. Renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies are among the optional components a builder can use to earn points.

New construction projects also must show energy efficiency compliance through the Home Energy Rating System (HERS). The required HERS index varies according

The California Contractors State License Board administers contractor licenses. The C-46 Solar Contractor license covers active solar water and space heating systems, solar pool heating systems, and photovoltaic systems. C-46 requirements include four years of experience and passing the business and law exam and the trade exam. Independent license schools offer courses to prepare for license exams.

Other contractor licenses for solar include:

• A. General Engineering
• B. General Building
• C-4. Boiler, Hot Water Heating and Steam Fitting (for solar thermal systems)
• C-10. Electrical (for photovoltaics only)
• C-20. Warm-Air, HVAC (HVAC systems that utilize solar energy)
• C-36. Plumbing (solar thermal systems)

Under the Solar Energy Standards Act of 1976, the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) is responsible for certifying all solar equipment sold in Florida, unless the equipment has been otherwise certified by a licensed engineer to meet the standards in Florida's most recent building code. 

A manufacturer who wishes to have their solar equipment certified first contacts FSEC for an application and requests that FSEC test samples of the product at random. Equipment is then subjected to a series of tests in order to be approved or denied certification. Standards and applications procedures for specific technologies are available on the

Nevada established a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) as part of its 1997 restructuring legislation. Under the standard, NV Energy (formerly Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power) must use eligible renewable energy resources to supply a minimum percentage of the total electricity it sells. In 2001, the state increased the minimum requirement by 2% every two years, culminating in a 15% requirement by 2013. The portfolio requirement has been subsequently revised, most significantly by SB 358 (2019), which increased the requirement to 50% by 2030. In addition to solar, qualifying renewable energy resources include biomass, geothermal energy, wind, certain hydropower, energy