My Boat Storage powers my house

[BY U BOY]

Originally Posted by jeff1000man

Didn't see a program for solar panels, but I did find a possible incentive to remodel the house. Need to read further.

I didn't see anything for Houston
I'll ask my boss how he is doing it with the new building
Austin Energy - Solar PV Rebate Program
Last DSIRE Review: 01/23/2008

Incentive Type: Utility Rebate Program
Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies: Photovoltaics
Applicable Sectors: Commercial, Residential, Nonprofit, Must be Austin Energy Customer
Incentive Amount: Residential and Commercial: $4.50/watt AC;
Equipment manufactured (60% minimum) in Austin: up to $5.60/watt AC
Maximum Incentive: Residential: the lesser of $13,500 or 80% of invoiced cost;
Commercial and Non-profit: the lesser of $100,000 or 80% of invoiced cost
Eligible System Size: Not specified, but incentives are capped
Equipment Requirements: Must use pre-approved modules and inverters (those listed by the California Energy Commission). PV systems must carry a 5-year warranty from the installer in addition to a 10 year manufacturer warrantee on inverters in residential applications without battery back-up.
Installation Requirements: Must be grid-connected. Must use a solar installer from the Austin Energy Registered Installer List. Solar installers must be certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) within two years of becoming a Registered Installer.
Program Budget: $2,950,000 (FY 2008)
Ownership of Renewable Energy Credits: Austin Energy
Expiration Date: 10/01/2008
Project Review/Certification: Pre-installation inspection will determine rebate eligibility; final rebate determined upon post-installation inspection
Website: http://www.austinenergy.com/
Energy%20Efficiency/Programs/Rebates/Solar%20Rebates/index.htm



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Summary: Austin Energy's Solar Rebate Program, launched on June 1, 2004, offers a $4.50 per watt incentive to eligible residential and commercial customers (including nonprofit organizations) who install photovoltaics on their homes or facilities. For solar installations that use PV equipment manufactured in Austin, the rebate is $5.60 per watt. For residential customers, the rebate program will pay 80% of customer invoiced cost or $13,500, whichever is less. For commercial customers, the rebate program will pay 80% of customer invoiced cost or $100,000, whichever is less. Rebates will only be paid for approved systems installed by approved solar contractors according to the established technical requirements. Depending on the commercial rebate amount, approval from the Austin City Council may be required.

The City Council initially approved $933,000 in funding for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004. For 2005, $2,000,000 was budgeted for solar PV rebates and $500,000 for PV installations on municipal buildings. For 2006, the solar PV rebate budget was raised to $3,000,000, while $450,000 is being allocated for PV installations on municipal buildings.

Austin Energy will provide net metering for customers with solar systems. Any net excess generation at the end of each month will be credited to the following month's bill. However, the credit will be less than retail value -- calculated by multiplying the net kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity fed into the grid times the current fuel charge.

An additional requirement is that the renewable energy credits (RECs) and other environmental attributes from participating in this program must be transferred to Austin Energy.

In 2003, the Austin City Council set a 20% by 2020 renewable portfolio standard (RPS) for Austin Energy with a solar goal of 100 megawatts capacity in the community by 2020. Austin Energy will install demonstration solar projects at schools, libraries and community centers, and is partnering with other city departments to develop the first ‘affordable’ net-zero energy subdivision in the country, a 100-home subdivision in the city’s southeast district.


Contact: Conservation Information Center - Solar Rebates
Austin Energy
Solar Rebate Program
721 Barton Springs Road
Austin, TX 78704
Phone: (512) 482-5346
Fax: (512) 482-5409
E-Mail: solarrebate@austinenergy.com
Web site: http://www.austinenergy.com

[satisfactionII]

Awesome stuff.

[outriggers]

$4.50 a watt that is a good rebate,it says $4.50 A/C but I think they mean D/C. I think I got about $4.30 rebate. Retail installed has been about $8.00 a watt depending on system size and availabilty of panels. Doug

[rbr2328]

Mine said 10KW maximum what does that part mean?

[outriggers]

N.J. also now has a 10k limit on residential. It means the max they will give a rebate for is 10K D/C. ie example 50 200 watt panels. 10k D/C in N.J. will make aprox 13,000 KWH A/C per year. Thats aprox $2000.00 in electric or $166 per month. These are my guesstaments. Sun and electric price dependent for your area. Doug

[rbr2328]

How much roughly per panel?

[outriggers]

Depends on watts, mine are Sharp 170's. They make a alot of different sizes 160,165,170,175,200,208 ect. I think about $850 each for mine. Doug

[rbr2328]

2500 kwh here per month equivalates to 158$ So would that mean about 5 months worth would be the maximum buy back at 10k per year?

[outriggers]

Originally Posted by rbr2328

2500 kwh here per month equivalates to 158$ So would that mean about 5 months worth would be the maximum buy back at 10k per year?

$158 for 2500 works to .0632 cents per kwh, we pay over double. I'm not sure what you mean by buy back. You would have to check with somebody in your area about how many kwh from the d/c panels. Most local installers know the in's and out's of each states programs. Doug

[rbr2328]

Thanks for your help, very interesting reading.