California Energy Commission’s New Solar Homes Partnership

The California Energy Commission launched the New Solar Homes Partnership as part of the California Solar Initiative.  It provides eligible homes with financial incentives to encourage new home builders to construct energy efficient houses.

To qualify for the rebate program, a new house should be under the service area of one of the following utilities:

• Southern California Edison Company
• Pacific Gas and Electric Company
• Bear Valley Electric Service
• San Diego Gas and Electric Company

The New Solar Homes Partnership is a 10-year program that was begun on January 2, 2007.  It has a budget of $400 million with the goal of generating at least 400 MW of installed solar electric capacity on new residential structures.  The CEC hopes that the program will entice 50% of new homes to have solar electric systems, by the end of 2016.

By definition, a solar home is an energy-efficient home that utilizes photovoltaic solar panels to produce electricity.  This household will have clean, sustainable energy that will protect their household from rising electricity bills.

The incentives are based on the expected performance of the installed solar power system, which depends on different factors such as geographic location, equipment efficiency, orientation, shading, tilt, and time-dependent valuation.  These factors will then be compared to a reference system in San Jose, California.

To qualify, the new home should be at least 15% higher energy efficiency than the current Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards.  The incentive will be paid after is solar power system is installed, fully operational and been certified to have met all of requirements of the New Solar Homes Partnership.

The program has four incentive levels.  The Base Incentive is $2.50 per watt.  The base incentive is for custom homes, small developments or those with less than six homes, house developments where solar is an option, common areas of housing developments, and housing developments where solar power will be available on less than 50% of the total homes.

Then there’s the Solar as a Standard Feature Incentive, which is $2.60 per watt.  To qualify, the developer of six or more homes should commit at least 50% of the homes in the subdivision or multifamily housing development.  The solar power systems must meet the requirements of the California Flexible Installation and must also meet the needs of California’s affordable housing community.

The Residential Areas of Affordable Housing Projects has an incentive of $3.50 per watt.  This applies to affordable housing projects of all sizes.

The Common Areas of Affordable Housing Project with an incentive of $3.30 per watt.  This incentive level applies to solar power systems that are serving the common areas of affordable housing developments.

For more information regarding the New Solar Homes Partnership, you can contact:

Public Information Officer
California Energy Commission
New Solar Homes Partnership
1516 Ninth Street, MS-45
Sacramento, CA 95814-5512
Phone: (800) 555-7794
E-Mail: renewable@energy.state.ca.us
Web Site: http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/nshp/index.html

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute a source of a official legal or financial advice. While we attempt to represent all data as accurately as possible, we advice you to refer to official government websites, for the most accurate and up-to-date information.

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