Rebates

Columbia Power Partners offers fixed, low-interest rate loans with no prepayment penalties to commercial customers making energy efficiency improvements under the commercial energy efficiency loan program. Financing is available to approved C&I rate customers for a variety of energy efficiency improvements, including the initial energy efficiency assessment, air conditioners, heat pumps, lighting, and solar water heaters. All requirements concerning minimum insulation levels, energy efficiency technologies, credit history, deed of trust, and ASHRAE Level II energy assessments must be met.

The process involves several steps. First, the customer should have an ASHRAE Level II energy assessment conducted and complete a commercial

In June 2010, Louisiana enacted solar rights legislation (HB 751) that prohibits certain entities from unreasonably restricting a property owner from installing a solar collector. Solar collectors are generally defined to include photovoltaics (PV), solar water heating, and any other system or device that uses sunlight as an energy source. While this law generally guarantees a property owner's right to install solar collectors, there are some exceptions to the law. For example, historic districts, historical preservation areas, and landmarks designated by a local governing authority are excluded from this solar rights law.

Note: The CSI-Thermal Program closed to new applications on July 31, 2020. Applicants with projects that have received a confirmed reservation are still able to complete their projects and submit their Incentive Claim within their 18-month reservation window. For any questions, please contact your CSI-Thermal Program Administrator.

AB 1470 of 2007 authorized the creation of a $350 million incentive program for solar water heating systems. Of the $350 million in total funding, $25 million is reserved for low-income incentives, $225 million is for systems that will displace natural gas water heaters, and $100 million is set aside for systems

New Hampshire offers rebates for residential solar water-heating systems. The rebate is equal to $1,500 for systems with an annual estimated output of 5.5 MMBTU to 19.9 MMBTU; $1,700 for systems with an annual estimated output of 20 MMBTU to 29.9 MMBTU; and $1,900 for systems with an annual estimated output of 30 MMBTU or more. Rebates will be awarded for eligible projects as long as program funding is available.

The application process consists of two steps. The first step is required for pre-approval and to reserve a rebate, and the second step is the final application for the rebate payment. Systems must be installed

In March 2010, South Dakota established a new property tax incentive that replaced two existing property tax incentives for renewable energy. Facilities that generate electricity using wind, solar, hydro, hydrogen generated by another eligible resource, or biomass resources are eligible for this incentive, as are facilities that generate other forms of energy using solar or geothermal resources.

For eligible facilities less than 5 megawatts (MW) in capacity, all real property used or constructed for the purpose of producing electricity is assessed in the same manner as other real property. However, the first $50,000 or 70% of the assessed value of

In 2008, Massachusetts enacted the Green Communities Act (S.B. 2768), creating the Green Communities Division within the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to support Massachusetts communities efforts towards a sustainable future, specifically in terms of energy use.

The Green Communities Division offers educational, technical, and networking support to the states' communities. In addition, they provide financial incentives. The Green Communities Grant Program offers funding for communities investing in energy efficiency upgrades and policies, renewable energy technologies, and energy management systems and services.

To be eligible, communities first must apply for and achieve official designation as a "Green Community."

NOTE: This tax credit expired at the end of 2015. This summary here is for information purpose only. 

In April 2010, Virginia enacted the green jobs tax credit. For every green job created with a yearly salary of $50,000 or more, the company will earn a $500 income tax credit for five years. The Office of Commerce and Trade will develop a full list of jobs eligible to qualify for the tax credit. Companies will be allowed tax credits for up to 350 green jobs created. If the taxpayer does not have enough tax liability to take the full credit

Note: In 2010, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which has authority over mortgage underwriters Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, directed these enterprises against purchasing mortgages of homes with a PACE lien due to its senior status above a mortgage. Most residential PACE activity subsided following this directive; however, some residential PACE programs are now operating with loan loss reserve funds, appropriate disclosures, or other protections meant to address FHFA's concerns. Commercial PACE programs were not directly affected by FHFA’s actions, as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not underwrite commercial mortgages. Visit PACENation for more information about PACE financing

Residential solar energy systems are exempted from property tax assessments in New Mexico in most circumstances. For the purposes of determining property taxes, the value of a property cannot increase by the greater of 3% of the previous year's assessment or 6.1% of the assessment from two years ago according to state law. An assessment may exceed these restrictions, however, if physical improvements are made to the property. Under H.B. 233, enacted in 2010, residential solar systems will not be treated as physical improvements and therefore will not increase the value of the property for property tax purposes. Future assessments

River Falls Municipal Utilities (RFMU) offers loans of $2,500 - $50,000 to its residential customers for the installation of photovoltaic (PV), solar thermal, geothermal, wind electric systems. The program will also support the installation of energy efficiency measures in connection with a qualifying renewable energy project, provided that the renewable energy portion of the project comprises at least 50% of project costs. Systems that generate renewable electricity must be connected to the RFMU distribution grid. Loan terms vary by project, but may range from 5 -20 years at a current interest rate of 4%. Actual loan terms will be determined