Good news for Delaware residents waiting for solar rebate payments

Some Delaware residents have been waiting for solar rebates for years because of a backlog of requests. Residents can keep on waiting or, if they want to take some additional steps, they can have their rebate processed in about two weeks from submitting all relevant information to the Delaware Energy Office, thanks to a newer rebate program.

Last year, the state began leveraging American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to create the Renewable Energy Relief Program, which allows residents installing a photovoltaic system, conducting an energy audit on their home and making at least $500 worth of recommended energy efficiency improvements, an opportunity to receive their rebates in as little as two weeks from completing all the relevant paperwork, said Scott Lynch, the planner in charge of the program.

The state’s been offering incentives to install alternative energy projects since 1999, but the recent increase of installations has overstretched the funding available for such projects, Lynch said.

“We have some programs you have to wait up to a year to get the funding. Some are as long as 30 years,” he said. “So when I say rapid refund, it takes as long as it takes to get the system installed, the audit performed and the upgrades from the audit. I’m done with that paperwork in about 2 weeks.”

People receive the rebate after he’s completed the paperwork, he said.

All the applications come through Lynch’s office. But the funding mechanism for the older rebates is paid out through the customer’s utility or through a fund set up by the utility. The renewable energy relief program averts some of the additional steps between the energy office’s approval and the utility.

“Under the rapid refund, the rebate comes from us, and not from them,” said Lynch.

Because the rebates have become so popular, all the utility programs have a waiting list of customers seeking rebates. The renewable relief program takes the weight off the utility-funded programs, Lynch said.

“State funds draw down faster, and you’re able to make people happy because you can get the funding to them quicker,” he said.

By choosing to have an energy audit, which costs roughly $500—less with incentives—and making at least $500 in energy efficiency improvements, the applicants can also reduce the amount of energy they’ll use in their home. A move that could help them reduce the size of the solar system they choose to put it in, leading to even more savings. “

I think what we’re doing here is a pretty good attempt to get people to think, offering them an additional incentive,” Lynch said. “If you do it, you get some incentives for efficiency and renewable money, too.”

Image courtesy of Northeast Sustainable Energy Association.