Delaware Solar Rebates and Incentives
Delaware, the first state to ratify the United States Constitution, has focused tremendous energy in recent years on saving energy. In 2009 Governor Jack Markell assembled a council of regular citizens from the country’s second geographically smallest state to come up with plans and ideas for reducing energy consumption. The group went to the governor and legislature with a number of ideas that would lead not only to lower energy consumption, but also to cleaner energy production.
The state’s primary utility company roofed its administrative building with photovoltaic panels earlier this year and announced to the local media that the panels would produce enough energy to balance the facility’s entire use.
Currently, Delaware offers residents a grant through its three utilities for solar installations, a net metering program, and a rebate for any improvements that upgrade the energy efficiency of a home. But, as a result of the state’s relatively recent investment of heart, Delawareans should look forward to more and more incentive and rebate programs coming online in the near future.
Solar Rebate and Incentive Programs
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Delaware Net Metering Program
Program Type Net Metering Technologies Photovoltaic, Wind, Biomass, Hydroelectric, Small-scale Hydroelectric, and Fuel Cells using renewable fuels Amount Retail power rate, up to 110 percent of expected use Required Documentation Completed application and inspection from the local Utility Official Web Site http://www.state.de.us/delpsc/default.shtml Delaware’s net metering program allows homeowners to produce their own clean power to fulfill their household energy needs but still get power from the grid if the power they produce isn’t enough. At the end of the year, the Delaware Green Energy Fund buys unused power from homeowners at the wholesale electricity rate.
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Energize Delaware Performance Rebate
Program Type Rebate Technologies Anything that reduces energy costs Amount Up to $8,250 Required Documentation Energy audit and utility bill before and after improvements Official Web Site http://www.energizedelaware.org/ This program allows homeowners to do whatever they find reasonable to reduce their energy consumption. This can include something as simple as recalking the windows to installing a photovoltaic solar panel system.
In the end, the more energy a home saves, the more the family will get back in the rebate program.
While the program focuses primarily on increasing energy efficiency, the ultimate test of success is to see how much the energy bill falls. The lower it goes, the more money in the rebate.
Local utility companies send representatives to interested homeowners to conduct an energy audit. The representative will usually offer suggestions and provide a list of qualified contractors.
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Green Energy Program Incentives
Program Type State Grants Technologies Photovoltaics, Solar Hot Water Heating, Geothermal, Wind Energy Amount Varies per utility Required Documentation Completed application and use of an approved vendor Official Web Site http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/energy/services/Pages/GreenEnergyProgram.aspx This program is sponsored by the state but run in distinctive fashions by three different power suppliers. Funding for it is provided by the Delaware Green Energy Fund, which collects an extra 18 cents a month on the average home’s electric bill.
Each of the three utility companies receive state funding in the same way but divide grant monies differently and require different application materials and documentation.
The programs are administered by Delmarva, the Delaware Electric Cooperative, and municipal providers.
Delmarva offers grants of up to 25 percent of the installed cost of qualified renewable energy sources for residential development and 35 percent for non-residential. Wait times for those making grant applications can be lengthy due to the popularity and success of the program. The program awards grants on a first-come, first-serve basis. No more than 60 percent of grants will go to residential projects and no more than 40 percent will go to non-residential proposals.
Members of the Delmarva system may apply for multiple grants and projects in multiple years, but may not be awarded more than $10,000 for residential projects and no more than $20,000 for non-residential projects.
The Delaware Electric Cooperative program operates this state-funded grant program similarly to Delmarva. Their web site warns that applicants are likely to wait 36 months for word on whether or not they’ve been approved. The cooperative, however, will grant up to a third of the total cost of installation for photovoltaic and wind technologies and up to 50 percent for other technologies.
Municipal providers will typically award up to a third of installation costs and up to half of the cost for solar water heating. Dover and Seaford utility companies have slightly different incentive amounts.
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Technology And Demonstration Grants
Program Type Rebate Technologies Passive Solar, Solar Thermal Electric, Photovoltaics, Wind, Hydroelectric, and Fuel Cells Amount Up to 25 percent of equipment costs Required Documentation Completed application, relevant permits. Proof of local code compliance Official Web Site N/A This program offers funding for novel technologies or the new application of old technologies. The grant, funded by the Delaware Clean Energy Fund and the public benefits program, is designed to encourage creative problem solving and the generation of new power-saving and power-developing technologies.
In addition to proving the project is innovative, applicants must show they will offer an educational element. This can include placing the technology in a facility where the public will be able to take tours and learn about it or integrating it into an educational program at a university or public school.
Grants cannot exceed 25 percent of the state’s annual Green Energy Fund balance.
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Delaware Solar Power Financial Incentives
Financial Incentives
State Grant Program
State Rebate Program
Rules, Regulations & Policies
Building Energy Code
Energy Standards for Public Buildings
Generation Disclosure
Interconnection
Mandatory Utility Green Power Option
Net Metering
Public Benefits Fund
Renewables Portfolio Standard
Related Programs & Initiatives
Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center
The U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC) provides a wide range of information and resources to enable the use of alternative fuels and other petroleum-reduction options, such as advanced vehicles, fuel blends, idle reduction and fuel economy. The AFDC site offers a database of state and federal laws and incentives related to alternative fuels and vehicles, air quality, fuel efficiency, and other transportation-related topics.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Green Power Network provides news and information on green power markets and activities, including opportunities to buy green power. This site provides state-by-state information on green power marketing and utility green power programs. In addition, the site lists marketers of renewable energy credits (RECs), also known as green tags or renewable energy certificates, which represent the environmental attributes of the power produced from renewable energy projects.
Weatherization Assistance Program
The U.S. Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) enables low-income families to reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy-efficient. Through this program, weatherization service providers install energy-efficiency measures in the homes of qualifying homeowners free of charge. The WAP program web site offers a state-by-state map of opportunities, projects and activities.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America site provides state-by-state information on wind projects and activities, including wind working groups, validated wind maps, anemometer loan programs, small wind guides, state-specific news, wind for schools, workshops and web casts.
