User:Ghament/Solar Energy Incentives

Solar Energy Incentives

City of Gainesville-The city of Gainesville has a number of policies in place to subsidize the production of solar energy in order to make it more affordable for homeowners and business owners.

1)	Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) Owners of photovoltaic systems (PV) with a production capacity of fewer than 25 kilowatts is entitled to receive from the city-owned electric utility, Gainesville Regional Utility (GRU), $.32 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity produced. Owners must sign a 20-year contract to take advantage of this unique opportunity. It is estimated that this pricing schedule enables the owner of the PV system to garner a 4-5% return-on-investment (ROI) over the course of the 20-year contract. Owners of PV systems greater than 25 kilowatts are entitled to a $.26 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) over a 20-year period. The Gainesville city commission has authorized the addition of 4 megawatts of PV installations per year.

2)	Solar Hot Water Heating Rebate All Gainesville Regional Utility (GRU) customers are eligible for a $500 rebate on the new purchase and installation of a solar hot water heater. The customer must already have an electric or natural gas hot water heater to be eligible for the rebate.

3)	Net Metering Net metering is a reimbursement scheme where Gainesville Regional Utility (GRU) customers who have installed a PV system and produce electricity are reimbursed for the excess electricity that they return to the grid. As of October 1, 2010, GRU customers are entitled to a net metering rate of between $0.091/kWh- $0.133/kWh depending on the size of the installation and the current demand for electricity.

State of Florida

1)	Net Metering When a customer of an investor-owned utility, such as NextEra Energy or Progress Energy, generates excess energy from a PV system, the utility is required to reimburse the customer for the net excess generation (NEG). This policy, passed in 2008 by the Public Service Commission, applies to all renewable energy installations up to two megawatts (MW) in capacity.

2)	Rebate Program In 2006, the Florida Legislature passed and the governor signed into law the Florida Renewable Energy Technologies and Energy Efficiency Act. This act provided homeowners and businesses a rebate for installing solar energy systems. On June 30, 2010 the rebate program expired and also ran out of available funds. On November 6, 2010 the Florida Legislature voted to accept $31 million dollars from the federal government to compensate a backlog of previous rebate applicants.

U.S. Federal Government

1)	Tax Credit The U.S. federal government is offering a tax credit of up to $2,000 or 30% of the cost of the installation for photovoltaic and solar hot water heater systems.

An Overview of Europe and China

Due to the severe economic crisis in the western world, western European countries were forced to cut solar subsidies, temporarily stifling the industry in Europe. Meanwhile, China’s state-run command economy has the led the way in expanding their solar industry. The adoption of solar hot water heaters has flourished. The Chinese Finance Ministry now offers a $2.39 per kilowatt to commercial entities for installing a system of at least 50 Kilowatts in capacity.