L.A. to reduce solar-panel rebates in 2011

Los Angeles residents who are considering installing solar panels have an incentive to act quickly: On Tuesday, the city's Board of Water and Power Commissioners approved changes to the Solar Incentive Program that will reduce rebates starting Jan. 1.

The Department of Water and Power's present rebate is $3.24 for every watt installed. A 4-kilowatt system, for example, would receive a $12,960 rebate.

In 2011, that rate will decline to $2.20. That same 4-kilowatt system will see its rebate drop to $8,800 come Jan. 1.

Further reductions -- to $1.50 per watt and, ultimately, to 60 cents -- will roll out as time passes and the utility meets goals for home-generated electricity.

The DWP has been deluged with applications for residential solar rebates since 2009, when the U.S. Emergency Economic Stabilization Act kicked in, replacing a $2,000 federal tax credit cap with a dollar amount equal to 30% of the installation cost. The average residential solar system costs between $35,000 and $40,000.

L.A. homes generate 22 megawatts each year, far less than 1% of the 25,000 gigawatt-hours used in the city annually.

In 2007, California Senate Bill 1 set $318 million as the amount that the DWP should allocate to help homeowners pay for solar installation through 2016. The DWP budgeted $30 million annually to residential solar rebates, but this year's applications have pushed the rebate requests to as much as $70 million. The utility's decision to decrease the rebate rate beginning 2011 is an attempt to stretch the program's funds through 2016.

-- Susan Carpenter

Photo: A solar panel. Credit: Maurice Tsai / Bloomberg

Comments

[save the deserts!]

DWP needs to re-allocate funds from their Imperialist programs to destroy more of the Owens Valley for Big Solar into incentives and feed in tariffs for local, point of use solar power production (like rooftop), which is much cleaner, faster and cheaper.

WE own DWP and WE want to own the solar power. LA Business Council and UCLA Luskin Center already proved that a generous rooftop solar feed in tariff would REDUCE ENERGY BILLS FOR ALL OF US, so it is very curious why DWP has ignored that option, and instead keeps pushing for overpriced, destructive monopoly power. Smells like a Big Energy move to me.

There's no longer any question. Rooftop solar, efficiency upgrades, passive heating/cooling and other point of use solutions within the built environment are the ONLY solution to our economic, jobs, environmental and property value problems.

Let's get moving, DWP!

[steve]

What are we supposed to make of the line?

L.A. homes generate 22 megawatts each year, far less than 1% of the 25,000 gigawatt-hours used in the city annually.

Power and energy are not the same thing. Do you mean LA homes generate 25 megawatt-hrs a year, or is the 22 megawatts an average power level and the reader has to mentally multiply by the number of hours in a year ... or?

very unclear

[trajan]

I wonder when we will see homes designed to be powered by the solar energy and by the DWP grid if need be? Whats taking so long for these ideas to be implemented? Solar panels need to be designed into the roof tops of new homes and apts. everywhere in SoCal. If you want to use the solar power energy available to you, you should be able to flip a switch and use it. Until I see those types of ideas being seriously considered by our politicians then I will continue to lose respect for our leaders when it comes to alternative energy policy and our ability to use our environmental blessings to take the lead in the new green economy. Whatever that turns out to be.

[Josh Donaldson]

All this means is that the installer/contractors will make less. There's no real competition in the Solar Panel installation market. Anytime the gov't give a discount, the installers mark up the price so it never changes. Don't believe me? Ask for an itemized bid from a contractor - and don't hold your breath.

[inbox1909]

The DWP rebate program has had some successes, but we can do much better. There should be a federal and state commitment, not only to put solar in each home in Southern Cal, but to find other ways to reduce our reliance on oil and save electricity. For example, by simply painting the roof of a building white, you can reduce temperatures significantly. Imagine if entire blocks had white roofs, reflecting all that heat back into space? Would save millions.
Developing a smarter grid, reducing energy vampires in our electronics, and by building in the cost of solar to new homes, we can do the job much better than relying on the DWP. All we lack is leadership. Anyone know where the mayor is? Check court side at the lakers game.

[Phillip Cohen]

save the deserts!, good job.
I am not aware of the destructive elements of centralized solar systems in the desert. However, I certainly see the benefit of solar power on single family residences, condos, commerical centers and industrial parks.

[MrBeam]

People should have a way to be independent from power companies on energy, and solar power should one of ways. don't understand why you need to be connected to power grid if you have your own supply.

[davecurtice]

Save the Deserts writes: "WE own DWP and WE want to own the solar power. "

Sounds like the imperial WE to me.

If you want solar on your roof so badly then pay for it yourself instead of digging into other people's pockets. The fact that rooftop solar requires huge subsidies to induce people to install should make it obvious that it is a ridiculously expensive and inefficient way to generate electricity.

The subsidies and tax breaks are a transfer of wealth from taxpayers to manufactures and installers and to people who are so well-off already that they own houses and can afford to drop thousands of dollars into eco-projects just so they can feel good about themselves. If you hadn't noticed, Los Angeles, California, and the U.S. are in no position to be financing therapy for middle class kooks.

And for the religious hysterics who believe in the dangers of anthropogenic global warming, even if all electricity consumed in California was generated with solar, it wouldn't make a whit of difference to earth's climate.

"a generous rooftop solar feed in tariff would REDUCE ENERGY BILLS FOR ALL OF US"

Uh, gosh, where do you think the money coming from to pay the generous tariff? Why not just reduce my bill by having the City of Los Angeles pay for it directly? And while we're at it, I've got a great idea--let's make everyone richer by raising the minimum wage to $50 per hour!

[davecurtice]

Don’t get me wrong--I’m against the looney, large scale solar-power-in-the-desert schemes as well.

The problem is AB 32. Yes, it’s a crying shame Prop. 23 didn’t pass, but don't worry, soon Governor Moonbeam and the Democrat-controlled legislature with their new-found budgetary power will force California into receivership, at which point good sense will prevail, AB 32 will be repealed, and all this juvenile talk of green energy will be an unpleasant memory.

[SolarGuy]

I have worked in Solar for many years and can tell you that LADWP is not on your side when it comes to letting you produce your own electricity. DWP makes is really hard for us to install in LA (not so bad in Edison territory) because they want to control all electricity production, not just distribution. DWP is the primary revenue source for the City of LA so don't bet on City Hall looking out for you. Solar does save you a LOT of money over the MANY years of its lifespan. Forget all the interesting arguments and comparisons made about grid parity, Solar will save YOU money. You need to made yourselves heard by your city if you want Solar. As for us solar contractors, we don't have enough power to fight DWP, so we'll install elsewhere if LA ratepayers can't get control of their gorilla. Just remember, when DWP finally gets their way and is doing all the solar installing, you will be paying a LOT more for their IBEW wages and gold-plated retirement packages! Also, Trajan, it's all available now, spend some time googling please. Josh, WOW, maybe that's how it works on your planet but here... you are SOOO wrong. Dave, you're right. Solar does not help poor people and a lot of it goes to "green" rich people that can afford to spend money on solar instead of turning off their frigging lights. But if you do own a home and want to own your electricity instead of renting it from DWP then you should use the subsidies you helped pay for and get your own solar. BTW, I love solar but can't afford it or a house, I just rent.