TEP is running out of money for it’s historically generous solar program. TEP announced that the rebate will like stay at it’s $0.75 per watt incentive level. That’s amongst the lowest rebate in the state.
Solar incentives offered by Tucson Electric Power Co. (TEP)—at least in terms of commercial installations—have really taken off. Meanwhile, residential installations under the incentive programs are still somewhat behind. As such, the utility is seeking to reduce the total amount of solar incentives it offers for commercial developments in 2012, while leaving the amount for residential installations the same. That’s despite proposing to spend $8 million more on solar in 2012 than in 2011.
Tucson Electric Power Co. is asking state regulators to lower subsidies for residential customers who install solar arrays, saying the utility is running out of funding for the rebates amid a surge in demand.
Nearly 1,100 local homeowners have reserved TEP’s SunShare rebates for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems this year, surpassing the total number of residential solar power systems completed over the previous nine years combined, TEP said.
Solar installers are wary of the reduced incentive plan and caution that the steep reduction in commercial incentives could hurt the market.
“When they’re trying to fulfill their mandate, it doesn’t seem to me it’s in the interest of the whole spirit of it to put the kibosh on commercial [development],” Charlie O’Dowd, president of Abco/Westcap Solar told the Arizona Daily Star.
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