Washington Solar Rebates

Available Washington Solar Rebates

Some energy providers in some counties offer solar energy rebates. These are summarized below. Remember that if combined with the federal tax credit, these could really help offset the costs.

Benton County

If you live in the city of Richland and are a customer of Richland Energy Services your home solar energy array may net you $500 per kW up to a maximum cap of $2500. Loans are also available for up to $15,000. Click here for more details.

Clallam County

The Clallam County PUD offers a rebate of $500 per kW of installed capacity for photovoltaic electricity systems and a $500 rebate per 40 square feet of solar hot water collector area. These rebates are small but are better than nothing if you're living in the area. The Clallam PUD also offers low interest loans of up to $15,000 to help set up solar energy for your home.

For residents of Port Angeles, the Port Angeles Public Works & Utilities offers a rebate of $500 per kW and up to $1000 for solar hot water installations.

Clark County

In Clark County, Clark Public Utilities offers low interest loans of up to $30,000 for solar electricity home installations, but no actual rebates. Up to $1000 is available as a rebate for installing a solar hot water system.

Franklin County

The Franklin County PUD offers $500 per kW of installed solar electricity capacity with a minimum system size of 1000 W. Loans are also available for up to $7000 for single family residences.

Grays Harbor County

For solar hot water systems with a collector area of 40 square feet or more, Grays Harbor PUD offers either a $600 rebate or a low interest loan to help with installation costs. There are no rebates available for solar electricity systems.

Klickitat County

Klickitat PUD offers a solar electricity rebate of $400 per kW installed, with a maximum rebate amount of $1200. They too have a loans program where you can secure a low interest loan to help with installation costs. The maximum loan amount is $10,000.

Pacific County

Pacific County PUD offers a $2000 rebate for solar hot water systems. They also offer no interest loans for up to $6000 to assist with the cost. This is effectively a small rebate, as the lack of interest charged on the loan amount will save you quite a few dollars.

San Juan Islands

Orcas Power & Lightoffers San Juan Islands residents a rebate of $1.50 per Watt of installed solar electricity capacity to a maximum of $4500. This rebate also applies to many other power generation methods. The budget for this program is quite limited however.

Snohomish County

The Snohomish County PUD offers rebates on solar installations of $500 per kW up to a maximum of $2500. $500 rebates are also on offer for solar hot water systems. The PUD also offers a low-interest loans program. Up to $25,000 is available for solar electricity installations and up to $14,000 for solar hot water systems.

Washington Solar Sales Tax Exemption

In Washington state, certain renewable energy equipment is exempt from sales tax. The state legislation says that "machinery and equipment used directly in generating electricity using fuel cells, wind, sun, or landfill gas as the principal source of power, or to sales of or charges made for labor and services rendered in respect to installing such machinery and equipment" is sales tax exempt. The only caveat is that electricity producing systems must be of at least 200 Watts capacity.

This current Washington solar legislation expires at the end of June 2009, so changes may be on the way.

More Information

Many PUDs offer incentives to improve energy efficiency, so if you're interested in lowering your power bill and getting financial help to do it, contact your local energy provider.

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