The American Southwest is a mixed bag of solar opportunity in which Arizona’s excellent incentives are outstanding partly because they stand alone. Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico have similarly sun-drenched climates but offer uneven encouragement to residents to install solar panels on their homes and businesses. With California blazing the solar incentive trail just next door…what gives? Partly, these states–like many others throughout the country–lack proper motivation. And by “proper motivation” I mean high electric rates. When the per-kilowatt hour cost of electricity is below average, it is incredibly difficult to make the electricity generated by solar panels cost competitive. There are other factors, of course: state legislatures that can’t spare the money from already stretched budgets, or won’t spare it due to interests in traditional energy markets, or constituencies that haven’t pulled together to demand a shift towards clean energy.
But as the national attitude towards clean energy and a low-carbon economy changes, more and more states are kicking into high gear for solar. Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons seems to be on board: he’s just signed into law two brand-new renewable energy bills. One extends tax abatements for solar property, and the other institutes a more exacting renewable portfolio standard (RPS). Neither bill provides enough support for small-scale solar to result in a wave of residential solar panel installations, but together, they do provide a much better platform upon which future legislation can be based.
Currently, Nevada offers a rebate for solar whose maximum incentive caps for different sectors limit its real usefulness. With just over $10,000 per residential project and a commercial project cap of 1 MW, it’s no wonder there hasn’t been much solar activity within the state. Hopefully this new legislation will whet state residents’ appetites for more. Here are the bill details, from Renewable Energy World:
Summary of primary solar provisions in AB 522:
- Extends and enhances sales and property tax abatements for wholesale renewable energy projects in Nevada above 10 MW in size.
- Establishes a fund for low interest loans to build renewable energy projects authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Summary of primary solar provisions in SB 358:
- Requires that the state’s investor-owned utility generate 25 percent of its energy from renewables by 2025 (increased from 20 percent by 2015).
- Requires that 6 percent of the RPS come from solar resources beginning in 2016, an increase from 5 percent.
- Establishes a 30 day application approval process for the state’s SolarGenerations rebate program. Eligibility capacity and categories for the program remain at 1 MW for schools, 760 kW for public buildings, 1 MW for residential and small commercial under 30 kW).
- Establishes additional rebates for 2 MW of solar at schools.
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