Thoughts on Solar

We have just learned that the City of Burbank will once again be offering rebates for a very limited number of solar installations.  Here are the details.

The total program is limited to projects below 30 kW; larger projects need not apply.

The program will pay rebates to residential customers at $1.28/Watt (CEC-AC) and $0.97/Watt for commercial customers.  There is no carve out for non-profits, however they say that such entities “will be given lottery priority."  Burbank says that is anticipates having enough funding for 50 residential and 10 commercial projects, with the allocation evenly split between the two.  That figures to be around a total of 500 kW, 50 residential at 5 and ten commercial at 25 kW each.  Surely the demand in Burbank is greater than that, so how will they handle the inevitable over-subscription?  Easy - Burbank is holding a lottery.

Throughout the month of July, applications can be delivered to the offices of Burbank Water & Power.  Then, on August 12, 2013, Burbank will hold a lottery and application numbers will be selected at random.  (Not sure how that squares with giving non-profits “lottery priority".) The lucky few winners will be notified by August 16, 2013.  “Winning” applications will have 1 year to complete their installation.

Questions about the program can be addressed to Solar Support Program Managers John Joyce or Alfred Antoun.

Not a great program by any stretch, but at least, for a while, Burbank is back in the game.