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What Solar Power Rebate Do I Qualify For?

Many Governments are now offering significant solar power rebates to cut the cost of installing home electricity generating systems. In some countries a national system is in operation, while in others it is a state by state affair. This page provides a summary of the rebates offered and what's required to claim them, as well as links to those Government sites for more details.

Australia's Solar Power Rebate

VERY IMPORTANT: You MUST obtain approval for your rebate from the Government BEFORE you have the system installed. If you do not, you will be INELIGIBLE for the rebate.

NEW INSTALLATIONS: The Australian Government is currently offering up to $8000au rebate on the cost of solar home electricity. This offer for new installations is $8au per Watt (W) of generating capacity up to 1000W. So if you were considering a 1000W system you would receive an $8000au rebate from the Government. If you installed a 500W system you would receive a $4000au rebate and so on. Rebates are still applicable to new systems with a capacity greater than 1000W, but the rebate is capped at $8000au.

There are a series of criteria that you must meet to be able to apply for the rebate. In short these are:

* the equipment to be used must be NEW and must be installed by an ACCREDITED DESIGNER AND INSTALLER (no D.I.Y.!); if the installer is NOT accredited you won't receive the rebate.
* the system must be AT LEAST 450W peak capacity.
* it is recommended that you obtain at least two quotes for the work to be carried out.
* the system to be installed must be connected to the mains grid or be very close to a mains grid. That mostly means you have to live in the suburbs. Remote areas fall in their own rebate category; click here for more details about remote installation rebates.

EXTENSION OF CURRENT SYSTEMS: The Government rebate also applies for extensions to current systems but at a lower rate of $5au per watt to a maximum of $5000au. All the other conditions are the same as for new installations; new components, accredited installers, and so on.

Follow this link to see the Australian Government website that deals with the rebates. There you will find application forms, details on what you are able to apply for and more.

NEW POLICY: Prior to the general election in late 2007 that saw the Labor party ushered into government, that party announced that it would provide low-interest loans to cover the costs of home owners installing solar power. This sounds promising, but no details of this are yet available. It may be in your best interests to wait until more details of this are available. This certainly seems to be a more valuable incentive than the current $au 8000 rebate scheme. I will provide details on this as they emerge.

USA Solar Power Rebates

There is no nationwide rebate system in the United States for solar power installation rebates. Rebates are provided by individual states. The rebates range from nothing to $USD 26,333. While some of these rebates sound like a jackpot, it is necessary to realise that any individual rebate is not likely to be more than 50% of the total installation cost. Many of the rebate schemes also seem to be tiered, aimed at only relieving the most expensive component of a household's electricity bill.

I will report individual state solar power rebate schemes as I have time to condense the information into a readable form. I am disappointed that the USA does not have a national scheme to promote household solar power; this is an issue that the US Government could take a great leadership role in, and the whole world would be better off if they did.

That said, some states have excellent rebates and incentives.

Return from Solar Power Rebate to Home Electricity OR return to the Green Planet home page for more Solar Power Facts.