Arizona Solar Power Incentives

Arizona Solar Power Personal Tax Credit

Arizona offers a 25% personal tax credit on the installation cost of photovoltaic and other energy harvesting systems. This sounds great, but the maximum allowable return is a mere $1000. This is better than nothing, but it pales into insignificance compared to the tax credits offered by other states.

Getting A Quote

As an Arizona resident you can contact Sunpower for a free site assessment and quote. There's no obligation, and all you have to do is fill out a form. They are a reliable, well established company with a solid track record in the domestic solar area.

Arizona Solar Power Property Tax Exemption

Arizona does offer a 100% exemption on the increased value based on the renewable energy installation. This applies for solar electric, hot water and other green energy harvesting systems

Arizona Solar Power Sales Tax Exemption

Residents of Arizona also don't need to pay the State sales tax on renewable energy devices. This only applies to equipment installed by contractors though, which limits the tax exemption to professionally installed systems. This applies to many heating, cooling and electricity generating systems.

Note that this is an exemption from the state sales tax only and does not negate any City privilege taxes. Exemptions for these may be available, so you will need to check with the local city council for the area you live in.

Arizona Solar Power Low Interest Loans

Several energy providers offer loans to assist with installing solar energy systems in homes.

Arizona Public Service

The Arizona Public Service offers loans of up to $50,000 to assist with installations. However, the loan interest rates are between 7.99% and 12.99% so they can hardly be considered "low interest". Under the present economic circumstances, such loans are not viable for the majority of people.

Sulphur Springs Valley EC

The Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC) offers loans at the far more reasonable rate of 3%. The amount is small, however. The amount is $2 per Watt up to a maximum of 25% of the total installation cost. While this is not a great amount, it is helped along by their rebate program.

Arizona Solar Power Rebates

Again, the rebates are offered by individual power companies, the details of which are given below.

Arizona Public Service

While their loans program may be less than desirable, APS's rebates are far more generous. $3 per Watt is available for grid tied photovoltaic systems, with lower rates available for other solar options such as off-grid, or other technologies such as wind power. The rebate covers up to 50% of the system cost, with a maximum amount of $75,000 and no system size limits.

APS also offers a 50% rebate on the cost of installing solar hot water systems. This is an excellent offering from APS.

SRP

SRP runs the EarthWise Solar Energy Program which offers decent rebates for residential solar installations. Until the end of May the rebate amount is $3 per Watt, but from the beginning of June in 2009 the rebate amount will drop to $2.70 per Watt. The maximum system size is 5 kW, making the maximum rebate $13,500 for a residential system.

The rebate amount is set to drop by $0.15 per Watt each successive year until the rebate amount reaches $1.95 per Watt in 2014 / 2015. While these drops are small, it's best to get into the program while the rebate level is still high.

Sulphur Springs Valley EC

The Sulphur Springs Valley EC offers a very generous rebate of $4 per Watt and this can cover up to 50% of the installation cost. This same rebate level also applies for wind and biomass systems. Systems need to be tied to the grid to be eligible.

Tucson Electric Power

Tucson Electric Power (TEP) runs the SunShare Program which offers decent incentives to residents wanting to install solar energy on their homes. The initial rebate amount is $3 per Watt with a maximum of 60% of the installation cost being covered. There is a second option provided by TEP for rebates, which is a long term payment agreements for between 10 and 20 years.

Trico Electric Cooperative

Trico Electric Cooperative's SunWatts Incentive Program offers the excellent rebate rate of $4 per Watt of installed capacity with up to 50% of the installation cost being covered. Solar hot water systems are also up for rebates, with $0.75 per kW hour saved in the first year. The amount will vary according to the size of the system involved. The amount of rebate for hot water systems is determined by the stated capacity of the system, so you won't need to be keeping records of the system's performance.

UniSource Energy Services

UniSource Energy Services (UES) runs the Renewable Incentive Program which allocates rebates at a maximum rebate amount of $3 per Watt of installed capacity. This amount is for maximum capacity grid tied systems, and the rebate can be reduced if your home is not ideally oriented for solar electricity.

UES customers are also eligible for a rebate on the cost of a solar hot water service. The amount is $750.00 plus $0.25/kWh to a maximum of $1,750.00. This can be taken as a lump sum or as a long term payment agreement stretching over 10 to 20 years.

More Information

Virtually all energy companies in Arizona have incentives for increasing your energy efficiency. If you are interested in an energy audit of your home and possibly some financial assistance to reduce your energy needs, contact your local electricity supplier.

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