Vermont Solar Market gets a Boost
Residential Solar 101
On April 22, the Vermont solar market was revived as a result of the re-openingof the Small-Scale Renewable Energy RebateProgram, thanks to $5.25 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act(ARRA). Through this program, residential solar power system owners are offered a rebate of $1.50 per watt for systems with productioncapacities of up to 10 kilowatts; with a maximum incentive payment of$15,000. If you live in Vermont and are interested in going solaract as soon as you can because this rebate will reduce once 750kilowatts of capacity has been reserved and that is equal to only 150, 5 kW systems. In addition, customers of Green Mountain Power areeligible for a production incentive payment of 6 cents per kilowatthour. This production incentive payment is given in addition to state and federal rebates and customersare still able to take advantage of net-metering. Why are they offering this program? Green Mountain Power says that,
it compensatescustomers appropriately for the economic value of the solar generationonto the grid. Because the bulk of solar generation is during summerhigh peak periods, it helps “shave” peak demand and it helps reduce the need for us to purchase expensive market power. Secondly, it is ourhope that this will encourage additional installations to increase theamount of renewable generation on Vermont’s power grid. In short, thesolar rate should accelerate the market for solar energy by offering an attractive rate to customers while being economical for Green Mountain Power and its customers.
To find out more about the solarrebate and incentive programs visit the Vermont rebates page.
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