Thoughts on Solar

We just learned that Pasadena Water and Power is offering a series of rebates for electric vehicles and for their chargers - how cool is that?  Here’s the scoop…

EV Rebates

New or used EVs, whether purchased or leased, qualify for rebates.  The rebate is $250, but that doubles if you get your EV from a Pasadena dealership.  (And if you participate in PWP’s income-qualifying programs, the rebate can be as much as $750!) 

To qualify, you must have an active PWP electric account, be the legal owner of the EV and permanently reside at the address shown on the PWP account. 

The rebate is limited (if you can call this a limitation!) to two EVs every three years!

EV Chargers

Now that you have an EV, you need a charger and PWP is offering rebates on those as well!  A standard Level 2 (240 VAC) charger qualifies for a $200 rebate, but a Wi-Fi enabled Level 2 charger qualifies for a $600 rebate!

You must complete the online rebate application within 180 days of purchase.  To get started, check out PWP’s EV rebate page here.

The Pasadena Solar Initiative - clearly the best run solar rebate program in SoCal - is ending December 31, 2017!  Here’s our take…

For PWP customers, this means that you need to get a complete rebate application on file before the end-of-year deadline.  You then have six months from the date of the reservation to complete the project.  The rebate, while it lasts, is $0.30/Watt for both residential and commercial customers, and twice that, $0.60/Watt, for non-profits.  If you have been sitting on the sidelines wondering when would be the best time to go solar in PWP territory, well, here’s your answer: Now!

The PSI has been around in its present form almost as long as Run on Sun has been in business, and we would be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to give credit for this wonderful program.  Over the past nine years it has been a model of how to run a rebate program: open, transparent, easy to participate with predictable rebate amounts, and no sudden interruptions in availability.  (Cf. alleged rebate programs in Glendale and Burbank, or the horrible SGIP program.) 

We are proud to have worked with all the folks behind the PSI at Pasadena Water & Power and they have done a terrific job! We are greatly appreciative of their hard work, particularly Mauricio Mejia, Irma Cid-Lujan, Alex Gonzalez, and John Hoffner.  Thanks for a successful nine years - well done!

Run on Sun has been doing Pasadena Solar for more than 10 years, but only now have we gotten around to dedicating a webpage just to Pasadena Solar! 

Who loves Pasadena Solar?

I know, kinda silly (and foolish from an SEO perspective) but we figured we were fine as we were.  But then I looked at the search results on Google for “Pasadena Solar” and it was really depressing.  I mean seriously - read some of those reviews and you know that they are fake - but still their related websites were getting better rankings than ours!  Not acceptable!!!

So now, if you want to see a webpage that proudly proclaims its love for Pasadena Solar, we’ve got you covered - complete with this iconic image!

Oh, and because we do so much work in neighboring Altadena we are hoping to do a shout-out page for them too but we need an idea for the quintessential Altadena image - if you have ideas, please let us know!

Bad news for Pasadena Water and Power customers - we have just learned that PWP’s solar rebates will be dropping by 1/3 effective August 1st!  Here are the details…

As we have noted many times in the past, Pasadena has one of the best solar rebate programs around - decent rebates, a well managed program, and good communications.  Consistent with that approach we have just learned that the solar rebates are going to be reduced effective August 1st.  That means that rebate applications submitted prior to then, and which are deemed complete when submitted, will qualify for the current rebate. Once the rebate is reserved, you would then have a year to complete the project.

Here are the current and upcoming rebate rates:

Potential residential or commercial clients, your rebate will drop from 45¢/Watt to 30¢/Watt. That means that for a typical residential project of 5 kW, the rebate will drop from $2,250 to $1,500.

Non-profits will leave even more money on the table if they miss the August 1 deadline.  For a typical 40 kW school project, the rebate will drop from $36,000 to $24,000!  Ouch!

If past is prologue, this drop in the rebate amount will create a stampede as folks try to lock in the current rebate rate before it steps down.  If you are in PWP’s service area, please don’t wait, give us a call today!

The new year is well underway (Happy New Year!), and so it is timely to revisit the question of financial incentives to Go Solar in the Run on Sun service area.  (You can read more detail about all of these incentives on our Solar Financing page.)

Federal Tax Credit

Beyond a doubt, the most significant incentive for going solar is the 30% federal tax credit.  Previously set to expire at the end of this year, the federal solar tax credit was extended late last year, continuing at the present 30% through 2019. 

The credit applies to solar installations in every utility’s territory, so no matter where you live in the U.S., this credit applies to you.  (NB: this is a tax credit, not an income deduction, so you need the tax “appetite” to take full advantage of this incentive - check with your tax advisor.)  For residential clients, the basis for the credit is the full cost of your solar project, less any rebate that you might receive from the utility.  Commercial clients, who must declare any rebate as income, do not need to deduct their rebate from the system cost when calculating the basis.

Utility Rebates

Once common everywhere, utility rebates are going the way of the dodo—with one or two notable exceptions.  We have rank ordered the local utilities below, based on the reliability of their rebate program.

Pasadena Water & Power

The big winner, again and by far, is the solar rebate program operated by our own Pasadena Water and Power.  Year in and year out, PWP offers rebates to its customers in a transparent and consistent manner - something that cannot be said of any of its neighboring utilities.

As of this writing, PWP is offering a rebate of $0.45/Watt for both residential and commercial customers, and a rebate of $0.90/Watt to non-profit customers (who cannot take advantage of the federal tax credit).  Alternatively, PWP also offers a performance-based incentive that is paid out over two years based on the actual production of the system.  Residential and commercial customers are paid 14.4¢/kWh, whereas non-profit customers are paid 28.8¢/kWh.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

LADWP offers a rebate, if you have the stamina to receive it. Vexed with the most bureaucratic process to be found this side of Orwell’s 1984 dystopia, applying for and receiving a rebate from DWP often feels like a reward for a life well spent.

That said, LADWP is currently offering rebates of $0.30/Watt to residential customers, $0.40/Watt to commercial, and $1.15/Watt to non-profits.  Just don’t hold your breath.

Burbank Water & Power and Glendale Water & Power

These two municipal utilities often feel like one and the same given their similar approach to rebates - which is to say, now you see ‘em, no you don’t.

Unlike their neighbor to the east, neither BWP nor GWP is able to maintain a rebate program throughout the year.  Instead, both open their rebate windows on or about July 1st (i.e., the start of their fiscal year) and then hand out money until it is gone, at which time the window slams shut until the following July 1.

Burbank’s program operates under a lottery, which last year opened on July 1 and was exhausted by August 15.  In addition, BWP imposes restrictions on the azimuth and pitch of rebated systems, despite their being no technical justification for doing so.

Glendale’s program is even less transparent, and the installation/rebate process is outlined in a 23-step ode to inefficiency.

We will revisit both of these program in mid-June to provide what guidance we can to the residents of these two cities.

Azusa Light & Water

The “Solar Partnership Program” in Azusa is fully subscribed.  There is a wait list that solar-hopeful customers can get on in the hope that at some point there will be rebate funds available - with no guarantees that there ever will be.

Anaheim

The Anaheim Solar Incentive Program was fully subscribed as of October 1, 2015 and is now closed, with no published plans to revise the program in the future.

Southern California Edison

SCE’s rebates, which were part of the larger, California Solar Initiative, have expired and no new funds are anticipated.  Of course, SCE customers still have the highest electricity rates around, which provides its own—albeit perverse—incentive to Go Solar!