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The Austin, Texas, city council has approved
Austin Energy's solar incentive program, which includes a new approach
for commercial, multifamily and nonprofit customers. The new approach
saves $2.4 million over the life of the program, according to the
utility.
Rather than provide an up-front rebate on the
installation of solar systems, Austin Energy will pay for each
kilowatt-hour of electricity produced over a 10-year period. This
fixed, performance-based incentive (PBI) achieves two goals: First, it
provides a fixed payment flow to a system owner by which payback can be
calculated, the utility explains. Second, it encourages proper design
and maintenance of systems to maximize their production.
Over
the next five years, the PBI program is expected to pay, on average,
$0.08/kWh of solar energy produced with program funding sufficient for
almost 260 solar systems, each up to 20 kW in size. Total PBI payments
over the next 14 years under the plan are projected to be $4.8 million.
Austin
Energy residential customers can apply to receive rebates at $2.50 per
watt, with annual rebates limited to $15,000 and maximum rebates set at
$50,000 over the life of installations at a single property.
