Rebates and Incentives

Photovoltaic (PV) System:

The combined rebates and incentives from California Solar Initiative (CSI) along with other tax incentives from Federal and State will total up to about 50% of the cost of your Photovoltaic SOLAR system. Starting in 2009, Federal tax credits have increased to 30% of the cost of the system (No Cap). When you add this to the State cash rebates of about 20%, it makes the PV system affordable for increasing number of people.

Assembly Bill (AB) 920:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has just signed the Assembly Bill (AB) 920 which requires the Utilities throughout California to pay their electric customers for the excess electricity they generate by their solar PV installations. This is great news for both residential and commercial generators and could result in proliferation of commercial and residential solar PV installations in California.

The assembly Bill (AB) 920 offers a powerful incentive to both households and businesses to use less electricity than they produce and to install more energy efficient appliances to save even more energy.
Up until now, utilities were not required to pay their customers for any excess electricity they produced and fed back into the Grid.

Assembly Bill (AB) 811:

The Assembly Bill (AB) 811 allows local governments to offer sustainable energy project loans to eligible property owners. Through the creation of sustainable energy financing districts, property owners can finance renewable onsite generation installations as well as other energy efficiency improvements through a voluntary assessment on their individual property tab bills. This adds a new and potentially powerful option to the clean energy financing. The important feature of this new program is that neither cities or the property owners have to come up with any upfront money to fund or purchase their renewable energy or energy efficiency improvement programs. There are no financial risks involved in (AB) 811 program for anyone.

Several cities in California including cities of San Diego and Solana Beach have begun the process to offer this smart solar financing option. The program allows land-secured, low interest, long term loans for homeowners and businesses who install clean energy generation systems like PV, to be paid back through their individual property tax bills. If the property is sold, the outstanding loan balance is taken over by the new owner as part of the annual property tax. The interest on the loan is tax deductible, and the energy produced is never taxed. For more information about AB 811, please visit CCSE Public Affairs Website.

Solar Hot Water System:

The Solar Hot Water program also has attractive incentives. The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) currently offers cash rebates of up to $1500 towards the cost of your Solar Hot Water system. This cash rebate is scheduled to expire at the end of 2009. 

There is also a Federal tax deduction of 30% (no cap) available to those who install a solar hot water system for their home or business. The combination of the CCSE cash rebate and the new 30% Federal tax credit will lower the installed cost of your Solar Hot Water system by as much as 50%. A typical solar hot water system for a family of four will produce as much as 2.0 Kilo Watts thermal equivalent of power and will reduce about 80% of the gas consumption for a typical family. These types of systems typically have a pay pack period of about 2 to 5 years. 

Regardless of your energy needs, going Solar is definitely a better way to go. In the face of ever increasing electric rates, global uncertainty, and unpredictable global markets for fossil fuels and other traditional sources of energy, you cannot afford to miss this great opportunity to go Solar.

Your true energy independence is only a phone call away. Please contact us here at Cosmic Solar to obtain your free and unconditional evaluation of your current and future solar energy needs at any time.