By Brian Lips, senior project manager for policy at NC Clean Energy Technology Center
Financial incentives have been an important driver for the development of solar markets in many states for more than a decade. States with the highest historic funding levels for their rebate programs—Arizona, California, Hawaii, New Jersey and Massachusetts—became leading states for residential and commercial PV penetration. All five of these states have since retired their rebate programs but mostly remain vibrant markets for PV development, highlighting the lasting impact rebate programs can have on state markets.
Many important solar states continue to operate incentive programs, including Nevada, whose legislature reinstated net metering in 2017. And residential and commercial customers in Duke Energy’s territory in North Carolina will be eligible for a brand new PV rebate program in 2018. Visit the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) for a complete list of all the financial incentives for solar.
While states have a long history of supporting solar development, many states are just now making considerations for energy storage. As 2018 kicks off, a few states are making moves to develop strong markets for energy storage.
California, which has the longest history of incentivizing energy storage, doubled down on its Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) in 2017, increasing its budget to more than $48 million in rebates for small residential storage systems and more than $300 million for large-scale storage systems. Additionally, California has allocated $70 million in rebates for energy storage systems located in disadvantaged and low-income communities.
Maryland took a more modest step toward building an energy storage market with a new tax credit worth 30% of the installed cost, up to $5,000 for residential and $75,000 for commercial energy storage systems. While the tax credit will be available from 2018 to 2022, there is an annual cap of $750,000 in credits that can be awarded each year. The Maryland Energy Administration will be issuing energy storage tax credit certificates on a first-come, first-served basis until the annual cap is met, so taxpayers may want to act fast in reserving their credit.
In addition to revitalizing its PV market in 2017, Nevada also took steps to stimulate the growth of energy storage. S.B. 145 requires the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to adopt an incentive program for large and small energy storage projects to be administered by NV Energy. The commission is currently working with stakeholders to develop the rules for the program, so consumers should look for a new incentive program to launch in the second half of 2018.
The new year already looks like a busy one for solar and storage. New and revamped incentives for both technologies will build pathways to adoption in many states. The state that leads the way could be determined by the success of these incentives to build and strengthen robust markets.
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