Xcel Energy responded to the Federal ITC renewable energy credit change with a change to their rebate and Renewable Energy Credit (REC). Effective October 24 Xcel reduced the REC from $2.50 to $1.50 per watt. The total rebate and REC is now $3.50.
If your application was completed before October 24, you will still receive the $4.50 rebate.
The article in the Camera about this made it seem like it was a complete overreaction by Xcel. What do you think? Does the REC work on any watts generated by the system or any watts put back into the grid? My wife and I would love to have solar, but we know so little and at the moment are renting.
Thanks for being a local resource, Gary!
I have attended several meetings with Xcel and other COSEIA members in the past two years. Xcel representatives would not give us a definitive answer when asked about the duration of the Solar*Rewards Program. That non-answer gave rise to the speculation that Xcel may reduce payments at any time. The reasoning behind this payment reduction was to keep total renewable energy credits around 50 percent of total cost. However, the quick notice will cause some issues they may not have considered. For example, some non-profit organizations are not able to benefit from the ITC, and relied on the rebate as the total incentive.
I hope that the PUC and Xcel revisit this decision and gather some information from customers and the industry.
The rebate and REC is based on installed DC watts (the size and number of PV panels), and not on production. I have published a blog that describes the contract details.
thanks for your comments.
Gary