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Here is some great news if you are considering going solar (or small wind) in Illinois in the next ~6 months.
The Illinois state rebate granting authority--DCEO has
a program that provides a rebate of 30% of the installed cost of solar
(or small wind). In prior years the maximum rebate was capped at
$10,000 per application, but this year its been expanded up to a total
of $50,000 per application. The state rebate used to max out around a
3.3kw installation, but now doesn't cap until roughly 15kw +/- 5kw And
they provide a 50% grant if you are a non-profit/public entity. Home
owners and/or businesses can apply. Be sure to get your rebate
application in before 4/30/2010!
This 30% rebate can be combined with the 30% federal tax credit to pay for over 1/2 the total cost of going solar!
For
example say you want to install a 4kw solar system on your house. Lets
further assume you are willing to pay top dollar ($10/watt) for a
professional high touch installation, the total cost of the
installation works out to $40,000, before incentives.
Total Cost = $40,000
State rebate = 30% of total cost = $12,000
Federal tax credit = 30% of total cost = $12,000
Cost after incentives = $16,000 (a.k.a. $4/watt)
Now
solar panel prices have come down significatly (40%) at the wholesale
level in the past 16 months, and retail panel prices are trending down
too. You should be able find prices under $10/watt perhaps closer to
$8/watt installed if you shop around/haggle a bit.
The average
installed system cost in CA (where 2/3 of solar panels in the US are
installed) was right around $8.2/watt in 2008 and might fall under
$8/watt in 2009. There is obviously more competition in CA than IL, but
many panel manufactures have dropped prices by ~$1.5/watt over the past
year; see if you can't pocket some of that yourself. Every $0.5/watt
reduction in installed cost (before incentives) reduces your simple
payback by about 1 year! (assuming IL sun and net metering/rates)
